Homecoming Heaven?

I've been missing having a dating age boy in my household this past week.  The unfolding and bustle of these big dance date weeks are always so much fun to watch as a mother of boys.  The table planning sessions where they come up with the itinerary and try to budget is endearing.  I would have thought that things on the girls end would be more intense, but the dress shopping was such a breeze, that we were ready two days after Ajay asked Mikayla--well we thought we were.  As a mother of a girl there is a lot of waiting....waiting for the boys to tell you what you will be doing.....then waiting for them to tell you when you will be doing it.....then laughing when they tell you the interval time they have allowed between bringing you home from the morning date to get ready for the dance date ;)  However, Saturday proved to be the scale balancer of helping a teenage daughter versus a teenage son.

SATURDAY ITINERARY:

The boys have talked one of their Bishops into taking them boating at Black Canyon Resevoir. 

Ajay picks Mikayla up at 10:00 a.m.  I'm out mowing the lawn, so I bring him inside and Mikayla is immediatley at the front door, ready to go; I make them wait.  I find Fred and introduce him to a very polite, respectful and "so serious" Ajay (he's nervous, so of course I give him a hard time and a mother lecture on everyone wearing life jackets, then grill him on his plans).  He's all business and has all the right answers, so I have to let him go ;)  He says they will be back at 3:00 and then he will pick her back up at 4:45.  I just smile.

Mikayla and Ajay come walking back in the door at 4:00, tired, sore (Mikayla) and sunburned (Ajay--I lathered Mikayla with suncreen before she left ;) I laughingly ask if he is still planning on picking Mikayla back up at 4:45.  He says that the other girls told him they can't get ready that fast (mother smile) and so he's told Mikayla to just call him when she's ready (mother smile turns to laughter) and I inform him that he should never give a girl that leeway--just give her a time and Eden and I will both help her to try and get ready by that time, so he says to plan on 5:00 unless he calls back.  He leaves and Mikayla, who was planning on barrell rolling her hair, panics.  She rushes into the shower and Eden and I start gathering "supplies".

Mikayla is out and dressed by 4:15 and I start blow drying her hair, while she is putting on her makeup and Eden is painting her toenails.  At 4:20 Ajay calls and says that one of the girls said there is no way she can be ready by 5:00 ;) so he gives her until 5:45.  We all breathe a huge sigh of relief.  By 4:30 I am barrel rolling Mikayla's hair and Eden has moved on to her fingernails. 

At 5:00 I am still barrel rolling her hair and Eden is misting body sprays through the air.  At 5:30 I am still curling (and realizing that Mikayla has A LOT of hair) but now I am committed and there is no going back.  Eden has run out of things to do, so she is being my gopher and Mikayla's moral support.  By 5:38 Mikayla and I are both slightly panicking and Eden is being our minute by minute stopwatch, since my bathroom clock isn't working, and finding comedy in giving us false time readings.  At 5:45 Ajay calls and says he's running late (he's doubling with his younger sister and she's not ready yet--she has more hair than Mikayla) and he'll be here in another 10 minutes.  We are all grateful for his sister!  At 5:55 I still have about 6 more  curls to go and Mikayla is waiting to hear the car pull up any second.  At 6:00, as I'm lifting up the last peice of hair, to wrap around the curling iron, the doorbell rings and Mikayla screams!  She scares me to death (I'm wondering how Ajay feels--standing out there on the doorstep) and it's a miracle that I don't burn her.  We hear Fred go to the door and invite Ajay in.  Now their is very heightened whispering in the upstairs bathroom.  Fred is calling Mikayla down and I am trying to put in her beaded bobbypins.  We had planned on lightly dusting her hair with prisma glitter, but in all of the rush I accidentally dump it on her head and down her face.  The heightened whispering escalates and Fred is calling again.  I try my best to blow it off, but she is very sparkly ;)  I'm finished so I leave her to finish buckling her shoes and start to head downstairs but now she's nervous to make the long walk because all of a sudden she feels very conspicuous.  I assure her it will be okay.

I go talk to Ajay and get directions to the "picture site" and Mikayla gatheres the courage to come down.  It's fun to watch Ajay acknowledge her.  Mikayla fumbles with the corsage (Ajay isn't wearing a jacket, which makes it difficult not the stick him).

They finally get out the door and I panic because Fred and I are supposed to be at Stake Conference by 7:00 and I haven't gotten ready for anything beside Saturday work.  I throw on a dress,  try to tuck some hair and feeling a bit unclean and underprepared, hoping that Heavenly Father will understand my heart, I fly out the door telling Fred I will meet him at the Stake Center; it's 6:20.  I find the kids, who have now hooked up with more peers, so everyone will have a "double" and by 6:40 we are shooting pictures.  All of the kids are waiting to be "placed"; Ajay doesn't know what to do with his hands.

At 6:50 I wish them well and make it, sheepishly, into conference as Pres. Evans is standing to start the meeting.  As the first counselor begins his talk, he mentions that his wife is still with a group of teenagers, who were later than ours, and says that where he would usually hope that the Spirit be in our meeting, this time he's hoping that the Spirit will be with all the youth that are dating tonight (two of which are his sons) and we'll just have to do the best we can.;)

It was an incredible meeting and no one wanted to leave.  We stayed and visited and basked in the sociality of the saints, so many of who had children at Homecoming.  We were able to say goodbye to Pres. and Sis. Walker who were leaving for their mission (Ohio) on Sunday, and see Bishop Waltman who was back for the weekend from Virginia.  We got to talk with one of our Trek sons who's working to make money for his mission and one of Jordan's roomates from Spokane, back from BYU-I for the weekend, to be ordained as an Elder.  It was so rewarding to hear of his experiences with college and what he is realizing about himself and how much he is growing.  We hear the same things in Jordan's conversations.  When everyone had finally trickled out, we finally left and I stopped at Ridley's for some Monday lunch groceries and found the "second session" of conference in progress there ;)  The store was full of couples in their Sunday best, buying ice cream and groceries to get them through Sunday.  I love Middleton!

Fred (there's the real prince charming) helping Mikayla buckle her "Cinderella shoes" on Sunday morning (the curls stayed in ;)