“I wish people would stop asking me why I don’t want to go to prom,” my youngest blurted out upon coming home last night. I just listened even thought there were lots and lots of things I wanted to say. He kept going on about the fascination his friends have about him not attending this function and how he is tired of explaining himself. There was a pause and that is when I asked him why he keeps explaining as it really isn’t anybody’s business. His response, “Mom, they don’t get that. They are teenage boys.”
We raised our children to never feel the need to explain themselves when making a choice and that “no” is a complete sentence. Understandably, teenagers don’t have those particular boundaries, but I got the notion that he felt a tad uncomfortable with all the questions. I don’t believe he is the only one not going, but at this moment, he feels the glaring spotlight on his “controversial” decision.
And then there is me. I would be lying if I said that I am not disappointed he isn’t attending. There is a small part of me that wants him to go and have that moment with his class, but I am respectful of his decision to not participate. Several of his friends have said, “My mom is making me go,” and whether that is true or not, I would never pressure him into doing something for my own benefit.
As I told him, after tonight, prom will be a distant memory. He responded with, “When I am interviewing for a job after college, I don’t think they are going to ask if I went to senior prom.” Wise words from such a young man.
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