Last night was the Prom or “The Farewell Dance” as it was called. Since he will be going off to boarding school next year this is his very last dance as a Dhahran Middle School Wildcat. The dance was formal dress with a “Great Gatsby” theme so we took Kai into Tailor 2000 down in Khobar for a custom suit weeks ago. As a the dance approached so did his nervousness. While I’m sure there was a certain excitement as well, an evening in a crowded room in uncomfortable clothes while he is navigating “peak awkward” generated a level of tension that increased the closer the event got. A few hours before the dance, when we had him try on his suit one more time, he was almost writhing on the floor like gollum because the suite was so uncomfortable. “It hurtsss ussss.” All of this drama necessitated a lot of masking tape wrapped around the hand – tacky side out – to get all the white dog fur off his dark blue suit. In the end he was able to find a niche with some buddies and survive the mother-son dance at the start of the evening.
I’ve heard the being a parent is a series of fallings in love and saying goodbye. First you meet your baby and fall in love and before you know it they are gone and there is a toddler you are getting to know. This repeats as the child you love grows and changes and you learn to both say goodbye to the child that no longer exists and learn to appreciate the newly grown person they become.
I have to say I’m really enjoying this kind hearted, inquisitive and bright smiled boy who’s most recently moved in with us.
