Alyssa excitedly runs into my office at work after being dropped off from school. The barrage of questions begins.
Are we going home first? Should I wear the blue or pink dress? What time do we need to leave? Can we go home and get ready NOW? My brain tries to process the questions and attempts to answer. But it doesn’t really matter; Alyssa is not waiting for the answers. It may be part of the process for most special needs kids. They think, therefore they ask.
My daughter Alyssa is a freshman in high school, and it’s her first time to attend the Night to Shine event, hosted by the Tim Tebow Foundation, which is a prom designed for teens and adults with mental and physical disabilities, with more than 500 churches across the world participating this year.
Alyssa is dolled up in a pink dress picked just for the occasion and ready to go. The plan has been to leave the house at 5 p.m., but Alyssa can’t seem to contain her excitement and eagerness to GO! Although well-documented, it’s still not completely understood why obsessive behavior and certain diagnoses seem to go hand in hand.
Alyssa walks in the kitchen and taps her watch impatiently to show me the time. “Yes,” I say. “It’s only 4:30 p.m., we will leave at 5 p.m. You have 30 minutes to relax.” She walks out of the room looking annoyed. Ten minutes go by and she is back in front of me tapping her watch. “Yes,” I tell her. “It’s 4:40 p.m., we will leave at 5 p.m. You have 20 minutes. Go draw a picture.” She’s gone again, this time for a whole five minutes. “Yes sweetie,” I sigh. “It’s 4:45 p.m., we will leave at 5 p.m. You have 15 minutes. Go read a book.” She runs off for all of three minutes. “Alright,” I say. “Get in the car; let’s go!”
We pick up her buddy Libby Claire and arrive at the event right on time. As we pull into the parking lot, we are greeted by a parade of smiling, friendly volunteers arranged by Union Avenue Baptist Church, the host site of this year’s event in Memphis. I can feel Alyssa’s energy starting to pump up; she is having trouble containing her excitement. At check in, she gets her badge and meets her other peer buddy, Gracie. Together they go to the Glam Station.
Alyssa is treated like royalty as a squad surrounds her to do her nails, makeup, and hair. Talk about feeling like a princess. Around the corner, the boys are getting fixed up, too. The ladies ask Alyssa if she would like some bling in her hair. Seriously, do you even have to ask?! Yes to all the bells and whistles.
As Alyssa’s entourage reaches the entrance of the prom, they are greeted with a red carpet and full line of paparazzi to mark their arrival. She truly felt like a star. It’s really difficult sometimes to get Alyssa to express her emotions verbally. So when your child exudes happiness from every pore of her being, it’s extremely emotional to witness. I could see it on my child’s face and all the other guests at this prom.
After dancing the night away and enjoying many of the evening’s festivities, Tim Tebow came on the big screen with a special video announcement. Everyone was being crowned prom king and queen. The kids all screamed in delight. As Alyssa’s tiara was placed on her head, once again you could see the look of pure joy. It made her feel like she is valued, and that is more precious than any gem on any tiara in the world.
As the night came to a close, I looked around in amazement at the droves of volunteers that were part of this big night for Alyssa. This was only one of more than 500 locations that participated in this phenomenal event. The Tim Tebow Foundation website states there are 175,000 volunteers involved in the one night. Knowing there are this many people all over the world willing to spend so much time and energy into making this event so unique for all of the wonderful, special people out there was truly overwhelming.
As a parent, I believe the one thing we want for any child is for them to be happy. An event like this is life-changing. Sometimes you feel so isolated. You watch other children who happened to be born around the same time as yours grow up and go off to do amazing things. It’s easy to feel sad and frustrated that your child may not have their day. An event like this reminds us that anything is possible. If hundreds of thousands of people all over the world feel it’s worth volunteering their time to make our children feel this loved, then all things are possible.
This truly was so much more than Alyssa’s Night to Shine — it’s a platform for the future.
Angela de Jong and her husband live in Bartlett with Alyssa and their son, Luca.