Prom

Dear Kyah:

Today was your junior prom.  I wonder if you would have gone.  Would you have had a date?  Would you have gone with a group of friends?  What would you wear?

Maybe you would have said "screw the prom" and rebelled against the idea and hung out with friends.  Maybe you would have been sad because you didn't have a date and felt like you couldn't go.  Maybe you would have had an amazing date that you'd started seeing in January.

I hate the maybe.

If you were to have gone, I imagine your hair would have been a jumble of curls and a little poofy but still soft and flattering.  Your dress would have been that shade of purple-blue that you loved but could never quite find.  It would be shorter and a halter top-style.  You'd wear some cute strappy shoes but bring flip flops that would see much more wear than the shoes.  You'd have the time of your life and create a dozen or more new memories and inside jokes.

I'd take pictures and find myself cherishing one of you laughing at something silly I'd said just to get you to smile.  You'd look, in the picture, dorky and awkward but totally you.  You'd regain your composure and actually see how beautiful you look and, for a moment, you'd be speechless.  I'd tear up and you'd laugh again.

Happy prom, baby girl.