Prom memories, #2 February 26, 2008

My son, Jazz, is mentally handicapped. Always has been, always will be. (Well, almost always has been, but that’s another story for another day). Anyway, when we moved to our current home, Jazz was blessed to find a wonderful friend right off the bat. He was 10 years old, and this friend, Kenny, became Jazz’s instant pal. (I can’t refer to him by a fake name, because he’s just Kenny). They would play basketball in the driveway and walk to the local pop machine and talk on the phone and do other normal “friend” stuff.

The year Jazz and Kenny were both 16, Kenny decided they both needed to go to Junior Prom. Jazz was very excited, and we talked to him about having a date and minding his manners, etc. Well, we finally realized he thought Kenny was the date! We worked hard to convince him that he had to ask a girl (of all things!) but he finally believed us. So Jazz picked a girl in his special-needs class, a sweet young lady with Down Syndrome, and Kenny asked another special-needs girl.

Jazz and Kenny rented tuxedos and bought corsages and went together to pick the girls up. Then they all went back to Kenny’s house where they had dinner, then they went to the dance. We live in a small community, and one of the fun events of the year is Junior Prom. They have a “promenade”, where each couple walks across a stage as their names are announced. All the parents go and everyone claps and cheers and it’s really fun. We went to the dance to see the promenade that night, and it was so cool. I had known for a long time how wonderful and patient Kenny was, but this was the first time I really understood what a remarkable person he is. The announcer said Jazz and his date’s names, then Kenny and his date’s names, but they came out together. Kenny had his date on one arm, and was using his other arm to guide and shepherd Jazz and his date across the stage. He smiled and behaved as if he was with the coolest kids in the school. And you know what? Because he treated Jazz and those girls that way, most of the other students did too. It was a night this old, tender-hearted mother will always remember.