Rachel Chapman has been a babysitter for 7-year-old Curtis for over a year. She is currently a high school senior and like the rest of her class, she will not be celebrating in-person prom, graduation or the bevy of other senior end-of-year ceremonies.
When Curtis realized that Rachel’s senior prom was cancelled, he decided that he wanted to throw one for her, complete with her favorite foods, flowers, and dancing, Curtis (and his mom) pulled off the best socially distant prom ever.
7-year-old created a prom for his high school babysitter after hers was cancelled
Rachel’s mom, Becky wanted to share the joy so she shared the post on Grown and Flown Parents and to say people loved it is an understatement. Over a thousand comments unanimously agreed that this is so sweet, so adorable and a bright spot in a very weary world.
When we spoke to Becky she said that last year when Curtis was in kindergarten, his family was looking for someone who could pick him up from his after-school program and take him to piano lessons.
Rachel agreed to start helping with Curtis a few days a week but over the summer, her job with Curtis morphed into an everyday job. Rachel would pick Curtis up from school and have planned activities scheduled for him. His parents preferred that he not spend a lot of time on screens so Curtis and Rachel did a lot of creative activities and spent a lot of time outdoors. Because they also shared many meals, Curtis got to know Rachel’s favorite foods.
When schools closed, Curtis’ parents were able to work from home and kept to their “bubble” seeing very few people. So, although they would FaceTime occasionally, Curtis and Rachel’s time together basically stopped. When Curtis’ mom found out our neighborhood was having a parade for Class of 2020 graduates last Saturday, they surprised Rachel with Curtis being at the end of it and holding a sign asking her to “mini-prom” – yes, a promposal from a 7-year-old. And, of course, Rachel said yes!!!
For their virtual prom, Becky tells us that:
Curtis had the menu all planned – they would start with apples slices and peanut butter – their usual afternoon snack. He remembered her favorite drink – Diet Dr Pepper and that she likes to mix the ketchup and mayo to dip her fries. So sweet. They had tropical smoothies for dessert. Then they danced. He made a play list. Oh, and his mom used a 6 ft pool noodle to help Curtis understand the distance they needed to keep. He walked with Rachel, with the noodle between them.
As for the dancing, Rachel had already gotten her prom dress but wasn’t not able to get it hemmed. Even with heels it was still a little long and then when they took off their shoes to dance, it was even longer, so dancing was a little difficult. We think they’ve both got awesome dance moves.
Curtis can really cut a rug. We love this for so many reasons and we are so glad that Becky shared the beautiful story of Rachel and Curtis with us.
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