My excitement over the formal waned a bit when I found out it would be held outdoors, under a party tent, on an evening that was predicted to be about 40 degrees F. Oh, and it rained for several days beforehand. We got an email the day of warning that to reach the tent we'd have to walk down a muddy path, so dress appropriately. Erm.... huh.
But, we still went for it (already had the sitter lined up, right?). So after the kids fell asleep I threw on my fancy dress and rain boots (with my heels in a canvas shopping bag), Zach put on his suit (fun fact: it's our wedding suit, he's gotten a lot of mileage outta that thing) and walked down to the community center to await our shuttle. See, there wasn't any available parking on location so Tuck provided us with transportion via bright yellow school bus.
To sum up: that Friday night there were about 500 20- and 30-somethings dressed in semi/formal wear and mud boots, riding yellow school buses to a party on a muddy riverbank under a tent. Why, yes, business school does at times feel a bit like College 2.0...
All this aside, the party itself was pretty fun. Once under the tent, the lights and people (and dancing) kept everyone plenty warm. Some people stayed in their boots, some of us changed into heels and dress shoes. They had a live band so after grabbing an initial drink and chatting with a few friends, Zach and I headed to the "dance floor" (raised wooden platform, to differentiate from the regular floor of muddy grass) and had a grand time dancing the night away-- another favorite activity I rarely get to partake in. I was happy to see several of the other Tuck moms also out and dancing their butts off.
Since it was an outdoor party, it ended early- 11pm. Totally fine by me, honestly. We trudged back up the hill, took the bus home, arrived in time to find Quinn awake and watching TV with the sitter who I then drove home before putting Q back to bed, and in the end I think I made it to bed myself by about 2am...and up with the kiddoes at 5 (Zach was a wee bit hung over, so). If you had asked me then whether the night was worth it, I probably would have said heck no I should have stayed home and slept. Now that a bit of time has passed, I am glad we went. The timing for other Tuck events makes it difficult for me to join (ie- many are right over kiddo dinner & bedtime), so I like making it to some of the parties that happen once the kids are asleep so I can have a chance to hang out with Zach's school buddies every once in a while.
Here's the one half-decent picture we got from the night:
Sweet couple. You are stunning. I know exactly how you feel - obviously - and do the same. Try to make it out to this kind of stuff even when it doesnt seem like a super awesome time because there are so many things I have to turn down since I have the kiddos to myself.
ReplyDeleteSuper glad you made it out. Sounds like quite an experience. Cannot believe it was outside but that adds to the charm and fun memories. One more time: you are *stunning*.