Last night was date night with my Husband. We had a quiet cosy dinner on the patio of our favourite Italian restaurant. Next to our table, was a sweet sixteen birthday party of a group of 20 girls from a well-known private school. They were like beautiful aliens to me and I wanted to observe their ways.
I was fascinated by their collective appearance. I did not look like that when I was sixteen. The girls were almost all dressed in interchangeable outfits of ultra-short white shorts, see-through tank tops with fancy bras showing through. I wouldn’t have made it out of my bedroom in that number let alone the house.
They all had perfect make-up and long lustrous hair pinned back delicately with the odd bobby pin. Dewy skin, radiant smiles. Toenails painted mauve or mint green. Gladiator sandals or kitten heels completed the look. None of them were overweight. None of them had acne. None of them seemed real. They all carried expensive clutch handbags.
Over the course of the meal, many of the girls stood up to make speeches about the birthday girl. I almost started to cry. At this point in their lives, their friendships sounded so intense, so full of love, adoration and emotion. There was a lot of “I love you so much. You are the prettiest, cutest, nicest person I know.” Some of them were bawling.
In the background, the birthday girl’s parents were lovelingly hovering, ensuring the meal was being properly served. On the table were huge baskets of pink peonies and bouquets of zebra print and pink balloons.
I remember my sweet sixteen party. My parents threw me a beautiful evening filled with peach roses, music and all my friends. I had no idea how special that time really was. It’s the Beginning. Of life, love, wonder. A turning point into that other realm of independence.
As I sipped my cappucino, I watched them with admiration (of their beauty and confidence), maternal concern (those shorts are too too short) and a little envy….of that precious threshold into womanhood, and all its excitement.
Sweet sixteen, what a special time in our lives, sigh…I remember my parents threw me a party in a hall with all my friends and close family!
It really was a precious time in our lives…thanks for sharing as it brought back
wonderful memories!
I agree with CynthiaK. Very cool of you to be that aware of what was going on at dinner…and the presence of mind to remember and write about it afterward!
Love this post! Mine S16 was in our unfinished basement & ended by police interruption at 11pm from a neighbour complaining about noise. When I look at the pictures of that night I can remember exactly how I felt too! It was a success to have a party broken up by police back then, lol. It is so amazing to think back & remember how grown up you thought you were & where you are now…just amazing!
What an experience to have the opportunity to listen into their speeches. WOW.
Turning 16 really is a special time!!
I never had a sweet 16 either but I look back on those days and I wish I could go back and tell my teen self how special and short-lived it all is! What a great evening.
Btw, I am like you. I get SO distracted by the goings-on around me at restaurants that my hubby and I have to strategically select a remote booth in order for us to have a night out that doesn’t involve my constant recapping of our neighbour’s conversation!
…like a scene out of a movie.
Never had a sweet sixteen party…I think I was a little to rebellious for that kind of thing.
Nonetheless, sixteen is a special time for a girl. That precarious teetering between youth and adulthood. I hope my daughter will have the presence (and respectable peers) to really embrace that time in her life, taking in the changes, the friendships, the promise of a world to explore, the fashions that she’ll likely never fit into ever again… 😉
It’s really great of you to have taken that all in in such a thoughtful way during your date night with hubby. I probably would have been doing a lot of eyeball rolling. 🙂