Exhausted [Nevertheless]

They wore anything from jeans and a t-shirt to a powder blue ruffly tuxedo. Fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and other father figures accompanied young ladies, also dressed up in an array of attire, to an Epoch Daddy Daughter Dance. 

Upon entering Epoch Arts, they were greeted by two smiling faces who confirmed their reservations and sent them to have their photos taken, prom-style. The girls and their dates then moved on to picture frame decorating, necklace making, and face painting. The music wafting into the foyer from the theater invited them in for pre-dinner dancing. 

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, crockpots of meatballs and pasta sauce bubbled while wands of fruit were made ready for fairies to deliver them to the dining tables. The kitchen crew cooked pasta, made endless pitchers of lemonade and iced tea, and refilled giant bowls of popcorn and chips. Carafes of coffee were filled and refilled to fuel the dads and the staff. 

After eating their fill of homemade mac n cheese, pasta, and the rest, the daughters dressed their dates in an array of dandy duds, wigs, and accessories. Dancing their way down the catwalk, the dads showed off their dates' handiwork to great applause. 

As all this was happening in the theater, fairies were printing out photos and putting them in frames while the kitchen crew arranged an array of desserts to accompany the magnificent fairy cake and toiled to clean up from the day of cooking and preparing.

More music and dancing followed dessert, until at last it was time to depart. Patrons were surprised by their framed photos on their way out. All seemed to have had a good time, the girls still full of energy, the dads not so much. 

Food packaged, pots and pans washed and put away, counters and stove wiped down, tables cleaned off  and put away, garbage taken out, craft supplies cleaned up, decorations taken down and saved for another year, the staff and crew trickle out the door one by one.

Everyone leaves Epoch Arts, exhausted yet full of joy and the spirit of love that filled the evening...exhausted, nevertheless looking forward to doing it all again next year.