Time in a Bottle

That was our prom theme the other night. Back in 1988 it was I'll Stop the World and Melt With You. Actually, that was the official prom theme, but we had the unofficial prom theme of It's the End of the World As We Know It. A bunch of kids even had a petition going around to change it, but the school wouldn't let us. Too bad. That would have been way cooler.

But back to the other night. A girlfriend of mine had the awesome idea to have a prom party and everyone had to wear their old prom dresses. Or, if you're like me, completely unsentimental, and you sold your prom dress while it was still warm from all the dancing, so you could have money for those new-fangled Compact Discs, then you had to borrow one or buy one off of E-Bay.

Anyway, it was a hoot. My friend had everyone tell her ahead of time what year we graduated (it ranged from early 80's to early 90's) and she made up little fact sheets for us with things like how much a house cost ($91,600 in 1988), average income ($24,450 in 1988), and the top 10 Billboard songs (my fave: Need You Tonight, by INXS, remember that one???). She also had fun, prom themed games and favors. My favorite of the evening was bouncing quarters into shot glasses. I thought I totally had that one nailed with 27 hits in 5 minutes, but another girl did 57!!! I jokingly said, "you must have done a lot of drinking in high school." Her reply: "No, if you're good at quarters you don't drink at all!" So true, so true.

We also had to bring our high school yearbooks to share with everyone, which was pretty cool because, being as unsentimental as I am, I hadn't actually looked at mine in 20 years. I got a little choked up about some of the memories friends wrote about. You really do want to wait 20 years before you go through those things. The distance helps make it special rather than just embarrassing.

So, if you are having a party anytime soon, I highly recommend this theme. We didn't have husbands there, but there is no reason you can't make them rent a tacky tux and join in the fun! I leave you with this image. That' s me in the fabulous metallic, sea-foam green, Gone With the Wind number, which I borrowed from my cousin. No, I wouldn't have been caught dead in this at my prom, but she did actually wear it in 1987. The humongous skirt, complete with crenolin, hides my pregnant belly pretty well. Oh, and don't you just love the side pony-tail?