Will I Be That Mum?

This past weekend, a very dear friend of mine's eldest son went to his Junior/Senior Prom.

It seems just yesterday that he was a tiny baby boy, crawling all over my apartment and clamoring to see out the window so that he might watch the trains roll by below.

But, now he is a young man of sixteen, and old enough to take his best friend to their Prom.

Wow, how time flies! It was funny, because I fretted all week with his Mum over what all he would need to have to be properly ready for Prom.

We worried together, and figured out the plan of attack on assembling all of the things that he would need.

Our biggest dilemma turned out to be where exactly to find the boutonniere and corsage.

Of course in typical teenager style, he hadn't exactly planned on going to Prom originally.

This meant that there was much procrastination in letting the Mumsies know in time to make the necessary arrangements for the big day.

Guys just do not realize that black and red tuxes just do not grow on trees. Neither, for that matter, do corsages or boutonnieres.

But, somehow my friend managed to figure it all out, and come Saturday night, her eldest was all sorts of Duded up and ready for the big night.

My friend dropped him and his date off at LSUS, taking pictures outside without a worry of being discreet in the least!

She came by my house afterward, to share the pictures from her phone and to worry with us over what would happen next!

It was soo funny because not thirty minutes later, the text messages started rolling in from her son, who was SUPPOSED to be enjoying Prom with his date.

The first one let us know that they had decided to buy real pictures with the backdrop.

The second one asked if they could be chauffeured to IHOP afterward, because Prom had made them hungry.

The third one had something to do with a request to be picked up discreetly at ten o'clock prompt, as they would be ready to leave by then.

We sat around my dining room table and giggled and guessed at what all was happening with the arrival of each text message.

Then, I asked the big question. Would my friend's son allow her to sit at the same table as the Prom-night couple at IHOP?

She thought that they might since she is usually deemed the "Cool Mom" of the group.

I wondered though, remembering how friends of ours, back when we were in high school, would make their parents drop them off a half a block away from the actual destination or sit tables away at a restaurant as not to make the happy couple look childish.

That's where I started wondering about my own status with my own teenager.

I mean, I know that he is only thirteen and all, but that is only about three years away from his own first Prom.

What will he ask me to do? Will he be embarrassed of me if I have to drop him and a date off somewhere?

Will they let me sit at the same table with them or will I be exiled to a table in a dark corner so that nobody knows that we are together and that I am the parental unit on duty?

Will He ask to carry my car keys from the restaurant to the car or from the movies to the car while on a date that I must chaperone so he can look cool, and old enough to drive?

I know that I have always been super careful NOT to do things to embarrass my child, if I could help it, anyways.

It hasn't been easy, either, especially since the triplets have been born.

I cannot tell you how many times I have had to attend a school function, recital, sporting event, or just a school meeting with my trio in tow.

I know we draw a LOT of attention, most of it away from my eldest. This is not intentional, it's just part of life as a big brother to triplets, I suppose.

It normally doesn't bother me, except that in school situations, EVERYONE knows that we are related to Bregon.

I never know what they think of us, and I always wonder if maybe he might be even a little embarrassed with all of the attention we get during those functions.

I know that when I was thirteen, I would have wanted to remain as anonymous as possible in that sort of situation! I can only imagine how it affects my him.

But, this brings me back to my biggest worry. Am I destined to be the sort of Mum who must hang back in the mall, drop off a half block away and sit at a table in a dark corner, keeping a low profile?

I really do try to do the right thing in teenager-land, but I just never do know if I am doing it right!

Where is that much needed owner's manual, "A Mum's Guide to Teenage Life."

Could I have the most current issue, please?