Prom & Everything In Between

[The song for this post is “Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers because it was playing at prom this past Friday night..keeping reading to understand this reference.]

Let me start by saying that it’s hard for all of us to not feel upset about what we are missing currently due to our new “normal.”

To say we all did not think about what we are missing on a daily basis would be, in my opinion, dishonest. 

At the very least, the majority of folks, miss the luxury of going to the grocery store without worry or concern. 

But, as I reflect on how I’ve been feeling about what I’ve been missing I have to say I’m very lucky. 

Yes, I’ve been social distancing for over 1.5 years now because 2019 called for it for me for other reasons, I have to say I didn’t miss out on any major milestones. 

What do I mean by milestones? Well, the first example that comes to mind is prom. 

You may wonder why I thought of prom first. You have John Krasinski to thank for that. 

For those that know me well, you know I love The Office. It’s my favorite comfort show. I’ve seen the show I don’t know how many times. Added to that though, I love John. I think he’s a phenomenal actor. If that wasn’t enough he just seems like a stand up human being. 

About 2 weeks ago he started a show on YouTube called “Some Good News.” If you haven’t seen it yet, just do it. It’s a quick 15 minutes of pure joy, happiness, and gratitude. This is the only news I currently enjoy watching. 

As if that wasn’t enough this past Friday night he held a 30 minute prom for all the high school seniors that would be missing prom. 

Here I am upset about my missed vacations when there are students out there that will miss prom. 

I remember prom. As predicted at 18 my privileged self did not want to go to prom. I went anyways because it was just what you did. I can’t imagine how upset I would have been if I just couldn’t go to prom. 

As I thought about that milestone, I realized, that while this situation is terrible for us all I’m quite lucky that I’m not missing any major milestones because of the quarantine. I went to prom, went to college without any pauses or missed events, graduated college, attended all the graduation ceremonies my heart desired, all without a single pause or wrench in the plan. I just got to enjoy the ride. I can’t say the same for everyone else. I can’t imagine being a senior in high school, missing my final summer before college, possibly not moving into college, missing orientation, etc. Those events shaped me. I still remember them all with joy. Fast forward, I can’t imagine being a senior in high school or college, working this hard, and now not knowing when my actual, physical, commencement will be. 

Fast forward even more than that, I can’t imagine having no attendees at my wedding, no baby shower for my first child, being scared to go to the hospital to have said baby, really the list goes on and on. 

Yes, I’m sad I am missing my vacation yet again for another year in a row. Yes, I am sad to be continuing my social distancing when I’ve been doing it since 2019, but I say that from my very privileged, first world problems place in the world. 

Really, this will pass and we’ll get back to living life and besides missing those vacations I won’t have missed much of anything. I’m reminded of how lucky I am in these moments. I’m grateful. I’m sorry for the loss others have suffered in missing these major milestones. I can’t do much other than say I’m sorry for what you missed. I know it’s not much but it’s all I have. I can also say we are all lucky if we have our health. Keep it all in perspective. 

I can guarantee you that the next time I feel bad about being stuck inside for so long I’ll remember prom and it all won’t seem so bad after all.

[Photo by Janko Ferlic from Pexels.]