Outside Counsel

Really, the only point I had about CLA's prom was that she looked absolutely stunning, but she told me that this was insufficient. "Lame," was the word she used, and although I'd have said "anodyne", I suppose she has a point. Reflecting on the event, it seems to me that one of the reasons Prom was a low key (for me) was that it was not a Big Date. She went with a group of friends, and had a fine time, and I was comfortable in the notion that she is a sensible person who is less hell-bent on being a grownup than I was at the same age. This is due in part, I think, to the fact that we got all of that drama out of the way earlier in the course of the year, but it is nevertheless satisfying. Of course the great frustration of being a parent is knowing that your child thinks you are a hopeless, creaking antique without a clue about how things are today, and therefore essentially incapable of rending any meaningful advice. We know this because we remember it, but the things we wish we'd been told (or the things we wish we'd heard, more likely) fall into the chasm of years, and we are left standing on the far side, waiving our arms foolishly.

But, see, that wasn't how CLA's prom was for me. She had a great looking dress, and when I asked people from Spree about where she should go to get her hair done, or what sort of makeup she should use we got excellent, useful advice, and the drama just wasn't there. I had nothing to complain about, and I was fine with that. A. and I went out to dinner, and all was serene. I suppose I could take the opportunity to muse on what a fine parenting job produced this result, but that would amount to boasting about luck, which is an unattractive thing to do. Similarly, gloating about the fact that I was correct about the erstwhile beaux would have an "I told you so," quality, and I really ought to rise above it. Instead, another picture of CLA, because she really did look great, and because I have toppled into self-parody and need an exit strategy.