Many high school students look forward to attending prom—a night where they can dress up and dance the night away with a romantic partner or friend.
Dakota Wollan, a senior from Watford City High School was not thinking about going to prom. He knew there were girls in his class he could ask but he didn’t want to be asked by them so he decided to skip it.
Dakota told his dad, and he suggested an idea—what if he invited his 92-year-old great-grandmother instead?
Madeline Miller did not get to attend prom as a high school student. After a year and a half, she dropped out to help her family’s dad who was ill.
The grandma said she doesn’t remember if the school even held proms during her time.
Madeline was the second-oldest of 14 brothers and sisters and was far too busy holding down her homefront that she couldn’t have attended prom even if there were.
Dakota took his dad’s suggestion and ran with it, quickly coming up with a plan for his “promposal.”
“I have this old truck she gave me, it’s a 1985 Ford she handed down to me and I got it running again. So, I took that truck and made a sign,” he said.
The sign read: “Can I take you to prom in this old truck?”
Dakota felt “pretty nervous” when he asked his great-grandma, while Madeline was a bit perplexed when he showed up with the sign. But she was happy to accept it.
“I had never been to prom before,” she said. “I was just wondering why he would want a 92-year-old going to prom with him when there are so many young girls in the school.”
It’s a good thing that Madeline said yes because Dakota would have sat the entire thing out if she didn’t.
The grandma hadn’t danced in 40 years, and this was her chance to sway to the music once more.
“[S]o thanks to her I got to make a memory for my last prom and her first prom,” the teen said.
During the night, the couple was the center of attention. When they walked in, Dakota said everyone “just went wild.”
The sight of them dancing “brought tears to many people’s eyes.”
Dakota took his great-grandmother with him to the first dance.
“Walking beside my great-grandson, listening to this music as we walked and people clapping and hollering,” Madeline said of her favorite parts of the night.
The entire experience had been surreal for Madeline, who said she felt like the “belle of the ball.” After all, who would have thought that she’d be able to experience her first prom at her age, and with her great-grandson to boot?
“I couldn’t believe I was out there,” she said.
This great-grandmother and grandson will cherish the sweet moment of dancing together at a once in a lifetime event. Although it was an unusual pairing, it was certainly a fun time for the two of them!
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