Elvis has left the building (And so has Zach)!

Zach headed out the door a few minutes ago.

He was headed to a dance.

His first middle school dance.

With a date.

An, um, OLDER date—a seventh grader

Who asked him out.

I'm not sure why I feel uneasy, But I do, just a bit.

Sigh.

Guess he ain't our baby boy any longer...

UPDATE: Sadly, the girl who asked Zach out was not allowed into the dance until after the sixth graders had left. When I picked him up, Zach didn't seem too concerned. Disappointed, but not concerned. He was more interested in telling me about the girl with whom he did dance—with whom he SLOW DANCED. Ahem

I did my best not to react, other than telling him I was impressed that at 11, he'd had the courage to ask a girl to dance, period. But when the conversation turned to his reactions ("Dad, it felt really weird having my hands on her hips, you know?"), I nearly drove off the road.

Sigh. It's going to be a long adolescence. And then, of course, come the girls. Double ahem.

NOTE: In case you're wondering, it was a "Neon Dance"—hence the bright green shirt and brighter orange hair. They would have contrasted quite nicely, had I taken the photo once we'd arrived home after the dance, next to my still-in-shock, ghost-white face.