7-Year-Old Throws Adorable Backyard Prom for His Babysitter

Rachel Chapman, a high-school senior, has been babysitting 7-year-old Curtis Rodgers for over a year. In that time, they've become close! And when Curtis realized Rachel wouldn't be able to attend prom because of the shelter-in-place order, he knew what to do.

Curtis decided to throw Rachel a prom of her own (a responsible, socially distant prom, of course). Curtis and his mom Elissa put together a whole backyard celebration full of food, music, and dancing. And it's adorable.

Rachel's mom, Becky, shared photos from the night on Facebook, where it went completely viral, garnering over 10,000 reactions, 12,000 shares, and 1,000 comments. People love this heartwarming story of a little boy doing a nice thing for his babysitter.

Becky told Grown and Flown that Curtis and his mom stood at the end of Rachel's "Class of 2020" parade and surprised Rachel by asking her to a mini-prom. Of course she said yes!

Becky explained all the lovely things Curtis did for Rachel, and it's so cute. "Curtis had the menu all planned — they would start with apple slices and peanut butter — their usual afternoon snack. He remembered her favorite drink — Diet Dr. Pepper — and that she likes to mix the ketchup and mayo to dip her fries. So sweet. They had tropical smoothies for dessert.

"Then they danced. He made a play list. Oh, and his mom used a 6 ft. pool noodle to help Curtis understand the distance they needed to keep. He walked with Rachel with the noodle between them. 

"I planned it out because Rachel probably wanted to see me a lot," Curtis told ABC 11. "She is also one of the best people I've known." This kid is too much. 

Rachel said that she was "kind of bummed" putting on her dress because she was sad she wouldn't have an actual prom. But after having that time with Curtis, she said, "I'm really glad that he did that."

She continued, "First he was waiting outside when we got there with the pool noodle and then he led me into the backyard. He had all my favorite foods and everything. I could tell he put a lot of thought into it."

As for Curtis' outfit, Elissa says he was insistent about every detail. "He was very excited and wanted to make sure everything was just right and get his suit on and pick out his bowtie that matched her dress," she said. "It was really cute. He was really excited for it to start and make sure he was ready to impress her."

Curtis obviously loves Rachel and the two of them are adorable together. "They're awesome together," Elissa said. "They have tons of fun. She's really become a special part of our family. We love her. She's awesome."

Curtis and Elissa clearly feel very lucky to have Rachel in their lives, and I have a feeling Rachel feels the same way about them. What a bright spot in a tough time!