The Prom!

Last night was the big night! I was so worried all day about how it would turn out. About 2:00, I realized that the nursing home never gave me the $50 gift card for my students' dinner. The lady in charge was going to bring it to me at school but I never saw her and I forgot all about it. I called the nursing home and they said they would try to find out about it. I sure hoped it wasn't a bad omen! We met Elijah and Terrace at 6:30 at an elegant restaurant called Travinias. Their driver (from the nursing home) took me on the side and said the gift card was delivered to the school main office and apparently no one at school brought it to me. My husband said not to worry and we would just put it on our credit card. The staff at the restaurant knew we were coming and treated us like kings and queens. One of the managers came up to me and said that she heard there was a mixup and brought me another gift card for my students' dinner. We had a little trouble with the menu since most of the food had Italian names and I tried to explain to them what each dish was but that didn't go well so I asked the kids if they wanted chicken, fish, or steak. Terrace decided she wanted chicken and Elijah wanted the trout. When we ordered salad, Elijah was so thrilled that we got 2 forks! When our main course was delivered, both kids jaws just dropped! Before each course, Elijah would bow his head and say a silent grace so we would bow our heads with him. The other diners in the restaurant were smiling at them and you could tell they were thrilled to see the kids so excited. I noticed that Terrace wasn't eating and I asked her if she would like me to cut her chicken and she was so relieved when I asked. After dinner, Terrace and I went to the restroom (it's a big thrill for a student to use the same rest room as their teacher! woo hoo!) I didn't realize that we should have had a lesson on this until I saw Terrace's strapless gown hit the floor in the stall next to me! I explained to her (as we got her dressed again) how to lift her gown to use the restroom. When we returned, our desserts arrived. Elijah kept trying to do everything my husband did, so when my husband ordered Tiramisu, so did Elijah. I ordered cheesecake, and Terrace ordered chocolate cake. The funniest thing happened though while we waited in the small lobby for their driver, Tim, to pick them up. The four of us were waiting in the lobby and when Tim pulled in the drive, Elijah and I stepped out to wave him down. Terrace was in the lobby with Don's jacket around her because she was cold. All of a sudden, Don bursts out the doors with this panicked look on his face insisting that I get in there and help Terrace! When I go back in, I find out that Terrace had an "equipment malfunction" (remember Janet Jackson at the superbowl??) and I have to help her. She tried to get my husband to help her and told him that if he just unzipped her gown, she would be able to put her boob back in the dress. At that point, he says he knew he was out of there! haha. I have laughed about this all evening. Well, we drive to the prom in separate cars to a very large exposition center with many halls. In fact I believe 3 proms and a car expo were going on at the same time so I was worried about the kids finding the right room. I called Tim on his cell phone and he explained that he had walked them into the hall and they had stopped at the restroom. I am so glad he was sensitive to their needs and walked them in or I'm not sure they would have arrived at the right spot! We got them in the prom and left them to have a great evening. Of course before we left an hour later, I called both parents and made sure they knew where to pick them up! I guess I'm just a worry wart but it was a wonderful evening!