My daughter had her Senior Prom this weekend. Several weeks ago she asked if she and her friends could hold their "after-prom" party down at the Farm in Delaware where my Waterfowl Club is located. It seems she and her friends did not want to do what most of the crowd was doing after the Prom....going to Ocean City,NJ. I agreed and thus found myself at my Waterfowl Clubhouse on Saturday night with 10 High School Prom-couples. They were all nice kids and well behaved. They played pool, danced,ate copious amounts of Doritos and pretzels...and I perhaps consumed some adult beverages. I was the lone "chaperone" and elected to stay mostly out of the way. They stayed up until nearly 5 A.M. and I was at my post until the last one drifted off.
The unique facet of this after prom outing came the next morning. I rousted the crew and took them to the field to shoot some clay pigeons. Except for my two daughters( younger one came down with me to enjoy the party) none of the kids had ever shouldered a shotgun. I gave them all a safety lecture and set up the thrower. There was a lot of missing going on...but as I gently coached the kids they started busting a few and it was wonderful to see their sense of accomplishment and delight when they hit one. They all really enjoyed the experience. My daughter posted on Facebook something to the effect of: "What other after Prom party involved shotguns and clay pigeons!"
I took the whole crew out to a Breakfast Buffett at the Smyrna Diner then loaded them into my wife's Suburban for the ride back to the Main Line and my Sunday lacrosse coaching gig.
Standing Ovation!!!
ReplyDeleteStayed at your post till the last one drifted off to sleep? Shotguns are cool and all, coaching the kid is nice, allowing the party on your premisses... cool. But actually staying on post and realizing one should be on post?
you are untouchable in my book. Nicely done.
That sounds like the PERFECT after-Prom party! Your daughter is one lucky girl, and I'm sure you scored lots of cool points with her friends!
ReplyDeleteYou're a good dad, that's for sure. And cheers to you for surviving an overnight with 10 teenagers, although it sounds like it was a good bunch of kids. :)
ReplyDeletewhat an awesome night. Far better than any of my proms. I'm envious.
ReplyDeleteThere was a shotgun involved during my prom. My date's father "mentioned" it to me when I arrived to pick her up for the evening. He was severe and rarely amused with a scowl that could wilt an iron bar... I thought he was great. His daughter was the cheerleading squad captain, and as I left, he said "See you both for lunch tomorrow." "Yes, Sir!" I said. He then responded, "Tomorrow's lunch will be served at 7am." A week or two later, as I was heading off for the summer (without his daughter) he presented me with Civil War bayonet as a going-to-college gift, and told me something about always leading the charge. Ahhh... prom.
ReplyDeleteI take my hat off to you to be sure, but kudos to the young people as well. How many teenagers today would even considered that type of event, let alone enjoyed it? It is good to know you, your wife and their parents are "standing your post" on the Main Line.
ReplyDeleteSo Yankee whiskey, we learn here that shotgun prom prevents shotgun wedding?
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! You are the best dad/host ever! What fun they must've had. You really created a memory for those kids. Hard to do these days, you know ;-).
ReplyDeleteThis story reminds me of something that could've happened to me when growing up. Great story!
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