Prepping for the Prom: A Man’s Perspective

A special day is coming up soon.  You see, my daughter will be going out to her senior prom, and she is super excited about it.  Of course, she has spent nearly a month searching for the right dress and accessories.  Her mom has even gone so far as to lend her the special earrings she wore on our wedding, along with some bracelets that I got her on our honeymoon.  But they really got together when the two of them began to prepare for the event.  That was when my daughter learned all the real beauty and makeup secrets and tricks from her mother.  My wife taught my girl everything from how to best deep clean her skin with new products to the way she can benefit by making the best use of a Sephora coupon to get the best beauty products at the most reasonable prices.

As her father I would take her off to different places and watch her grow from the tiny infant who cried as she first saw the light of day to the teenage girl who is now about to graduate from school and become a strikingly beautiful woman.  I also grew, from her precious protective daddy who looked after her and her mother to the wise man who kept her from going astray.  Now I was the one who carefully evaluated and made judgements on all her young suitors.  Her mother made certain she knew how to use Groupon promo codes and coupons to obtain all the special supplies and equipment that she could use to attract all those suitors.  And she also made sure she knew how those products can best accentuate our daughter’s natural attractiveness.  Meanwhile, I was the one who evaluated the young men to make certain that they would be proper candidates for my daughter’s future.

While the women are busily primping and prepping to look their best for these special occasions, we men find ourselves spending uncomfortable time sizing one another up.  It is a difficult situation under the best of circumstances, but it is even more difficult when you factor in the difference in age as well as the unspoken awareness of possible future intentions.  What makes these meetings often memorable is the awareness on both parts that the elder male and father of the debutante has at some point in his life been in the same circumstance as the escort who is now uncomfortably seated in that chair awaiting the entrance of his date.  Her father has likely shared the experience and is aware of what this young man is going through.  That is why any man who seems too comfortable or relaxed may be someone likely to arouse a father’s suspicions.  While his daughter may be impressed by her date’s suaveness and sophistication, her father may see those very qualities as an indication that he is a little “too” well-experienced and not the right companion for his daughter.

While all these matters may be running through the minds of parents and debutante and escort, what usually takes the attention of all is the appearance of that young lady on her first formal occasion.  This is what she has carefully prepared for and has called upon all the tricks she has learned from her mother.  And though this may be what her father has dreaded for years, he simultaneously feels a sense of pride that he may only feel again at her wedding.