We--my wife & me--will host the after-Prom party tonight. Other than having to stay awake until our guests arrive well past midnight, I expect good things. Well, maybe not all good. My neighbors will whinny because throngs of teenagers with newly minted driving licenses block their driveways with dad's SUV. My bathroom will get a workout I will make untold trips outside to see what exactly is so interesting outside that you have to go back and forth several times (maybe not, these are really good kids or so their mothers tell me). That we live next door to a park offers me no comfort as I imagine tuxedos in the grass (hey, that would be a good name for a rock band).

My bank account will also get worked over. Prom dress $300, shoes $79, earrings, $43, chocolate fondue, fruit, orange juice, plates, napkins, and cups, $118. Being the coolest Dad: priceless.

For all it's impending doom, hosting the post-Prom shindig offers the best possible way to really know my daughter's friends. I expect to see at least one couple on the brink of a breakup and more than one pledging goo-goo eyed foreverlove. I will meet the class clown, brain, jock, and dweeb who will likely change roles over the next twenty years. It should be more entertaining than people watching at the Austin airport, which is pretty good fun if you've never tried it.

Pray for me. I hope I can stay awake.