Have You Asked a Girl to Homecoming Yet?

Do you ever find yourself repeating the same question over and over? I know I do, and the one main question that sticks in my mind around this time of year ,which I ask my two sons daily is: "Have you asked a girl to Homecoming yet?"

From a woman's standpoint and having gone through many formal dances with my daughter, I know the routine and the stress that the girls go through. Yet, I find my boys are very casual about it, which drives me crazy. 

Nowadays it's not as simple as it used to be asking a girl. These days the planning and the timing of asking a girl to Homecoming are much more intense and detailed. 

My youngest son, Ryan, asked his date last year by making a colorful cardstock puzzle, then having a friend deliver the puzzle to his date early in the morning prior to school starting. 

His date pieced the puzzle together with the end result, "Will You Go To Homecoming With ...." Then, she was instructed by the friend to meet the "mystery young man" at a certain location on school campus where Ryan stood wearing a plain white t-shirt with "Me?" imprinted (thanks to a black Sharpie) on the front of it. After all that work and planning, Ryan had a date to his first Homecoming dance. 

Since this was a school day, and a work day for me, I was unable to witness the excitement unfortunately, but I received a telephone call from Ryan after school with the good news—"Mom, I'm going to Homecoming. She said 'yes.' "

Now it is planning and primping time for Ryan. More planning than primping. 

First I asked, "Do you know what color her dress is?" 

He responded "No."

"OK, well you need to find out so we can order your suit and match the dress color," I told him.

After repeating myself daily with this question and statement for approximately a week, I finally got the answer: black and pink. So off we went to the suit rental shop where Ryan was sized for a suit and shoes, picked out his pattern and color for his tie and vest, and the rental deposit made. We then drove to the florist to order the corsage—pink roses with silver and black ribbon.

On the day of the dance it was nothing like what I had gone through many times with my daughter.  Ryan was relaxed, as was I, as there were no appointments, just two stops on our to-do list for the day: pick up the suit and pick up the corsage. Both tasks accomplished in record time with no debate or argument between Ryan and myself. I thought, "So easy!"

Ryan then had to meet his Homecoming group of friends, made up of couples, at one of the boy's homes for pre-dance photos. 

Getting there was a piece of cake with Ryan. Just remembering the corsage was all we were stressed about, because you know if the corsage or boutonnière is left behind, it's mom or dad making the run back to the house to retrieve it! All was good, lots of photos were taken, and all the couples were then driven by parents to dinner and then to the dance for an evening of fun.

I don't believe most boys understand the timing aspects of a formal dance and the planning that needs to take place. I'm sure as they grow, mature, and experience these great events in life, they will learn and learn from the best .... mom and/or dad.