Time is Flyin'

Yesterday was Prom 2011 for my youngest son, Charles Joshua Dale Martin.  Prom has become almost "wedding-like" in it's preparation and with the event itself.  Josh's date got her hair done at a professional studio, the pictures were taken at two different locations, a V.I.P. room was rented out in the upper private room of a Nashville restaurant, limos were everywhere yesterday, the mothers of the Senior Class boys are invited to the Country Music Hall of Fame to dance the first dance with their sons, and all night activities, culminating in breakfast the next morning, make for a big event indeed.

But it was also a moment for Dena and me as parents.  With Spencer's prom, it seemed a normal part of routine for us.  Not that it was less important or had fewer activities.  I think Josh's prom made more of an impression on me because he is our youngest son and the horizon for us as "empty-nester" parents seems to grow closer and closer.  When Dena and I retired for the night, it was just us alone.  We went to dinner by ourselves, we came home and did a few chores, and we went to bed.  Just us.  And it seems a little strange but it also feels right.  For me, it seems to be a "moment of truth" type of feeling.  It feels like we are trying to put the finishing touches on two young lives that have shared eighteen years with us and soon it will be time for them to be on their own, to make a place in their world, and to hopefully make a positive difference.

Papa Dale sent a Facebook message that seemed to sum things up from this weekend pretty well.  He wrote," Blink, and there will be wedding pics, then grandkid pics. It's all happening so fast!"

Thanks for your words of wisdom, Dale.  I could not agree more.