A few weeks ago I got a call from a girl that Alex has gone to school with all through the years, starting in first grade; she wanted to ask Alex to the Valentine's girl's choice dance and asked me if that would be ok. OK? Of course it's ok!
I remember this girl (Ashley) at another Valentine's dance, this one in middle school. It was the only after school dance Alex had seemed interested in going to and his teacher was going to be there so I let him go. I went to watch when it was about 1/2 way done and Alex had just asked Ashley to dance. Now remember, my boy isn't known for his height, and Ashley is. But this kind, sweet girl danced her heart out with him. When the song was done, Alex said, "Let's dance again," and how Ashley handled that impressed me beyond measure. She told him that she would love to, but he needed to learn to ask others and dance with others. Then she asked him who he wanted to ask next and after he pointed out another girl, she encouraged him to ask her to dance. She wasn't mean, yet firm. She wasn't discouraging, but very encouraging. Great girl. So would I mind him going on his first real date, which also happens to be his first real dance with her? Heaven's no!!
So, this goon is on his date right now!! We tried to take a few pictures before Ashley showed up, but he was so excited he looked like he was going to explode standing there.
His whole family was there waiting in anticipation for his date. Look closely in the background....
...Alex is looking out the window waiting ever so patiently for his date to arrive!!
She looked absolutely beautiful! Her parents came with her because they wanted to meet Alex. We took lots of pictures, of course, and I told Ashley's mom how sweet this was for her to ask him. She told me that she wanted to ask him to last year's girl's choice dance because she wanted to be his first date, but that she wasn't 16 yet and they wouldn't let her. Well, she waited a year until she was 16 and she is still his first date!!
Alex gave her the corsage....
...and made her mom put it on her! What you can't see is Mike is in the other room tying the tie that Ashley bought (so it would match her jewelry and sash) and struggling to get it the right length, since Alex is so short!
Then we took pictures....
... and more pictures....
...and more pictures...
...and even more pictures! All that before they left to take pictures with their group!
We kept snapping pictures even as they left because it was such a big occasion for us all!
After dinner I met them at the school so I could give him his shots (which felt really awkward, like I was meeting someone for a drug fix in the school parking lot or something). I asked Ashley if he was being good and she said he was being so good and even held her chair out for her at dinner, and all the other girls in the group chewed their dates out because Alex was the only one who had! That's my boy! I'm sure he's dancing up a storm. No one dances as well as Alex and with a good friend by his side, he's going to have all the fun in the world!
Thanks to Ashley, and all the other friends in Alex's life who have helped him become the great young man that he is!
*If you want to comment on this, please comment on the blog, not on Facebook - I want Alex to see the comments in one place so it looks like a lot!!
