When Mary Lapkowicz and Ben Moser parted ways in the 6th grade to different school districts a very special friendship was broken up, but not forever. Dating back two years earlier to 4th grade, Ben Moser would go out of his way to make sure that Mary Lapkowicz was included in all classroom activities, was always having a good time, and he’d ensure that Mary always felt like she was just as part of the crowd as anyone else. That’s a pretty remarkable thing for a 4th grade boy to do, toss in the fact that Mary Lapkowicz was born with Down Syndrome and suddenly I’m wising Ben was my bro too. Like I said before, the two close friends parted ways back in 6th grade when Mary moved to the Central Dauphin School District and Ben was in the Susquehanna School District, but not before Ben made a promise to Mary that he would keep decades later: to take Mary to prom.
Neither Ben nor Mary’s parents really had any idea of the extent of the two’s special friendship back when they were in grade school, and it wasn’t until 4th-grade Ben was riding in the car with his mom after witnessing his cousin’s prom walk that his mother caught on. Ben told his mom that when they were old enough he would take Mary to prom. Shortly thereafter the two friends parted ways, and eventually ended up at rival football high schools. Ben even plays quarterback at Susquehanna High School, a bitter rival of Central Dauphin.
Tonight we shared a very special moment together with two incredible kids Ann Marie Schropp Lapkowicz Ben asked Mary to…
Posted by Lisa Troutman Moser on Thursday, March 19, 2015
Last year the two rival schools met on the football field and Ben ran into Mary, and he was reminded of his promise to take her to prom. So what’d the QB do? He got together some balloons, wrote the word ‘prom’ on them, and asked his lifelong friend to be his date.
Mary had been talking about homecoming and other events to he dad, but it was obvious to Mary’s dad that prom was the big one, the one that his sweet daughter TRULY wanted to go to.
Sean Adams of PennLive reports:
“She talked about going to prom,” Mary’s father said. “I’d taken her to homecoming and stuff, but she had prom on her mind all along.”
But Mary didn’t know that Ben would follow up on that vow he had made so long ago.
“We got balloons and I wrote ‘prom’ on it,” Ben said. “I presented her with the balloons and asked her to go to prom with me.”
“I was surprised,” Mary admitted, smiling. “I was going to go with some friends.”
But she was overjoyed to be going with Ben, particularly in a beautiful lavender gown from Simply Chic.
Of course, this would mean that the two students would have to set their school’s football rivalry aside.
“I don’t think it should be too weird,” Ben joked. “There [are] good kids there.”
Ultimate bro move. Keeping a promised made back in 4th grade and taking your lifelong friend to prom. This kid’s a saint. I hope there’s football scholarships pouring in for this fine athlete, as it’s obvious he’s blowing the competition out of the water when it comes to moral fiber.
Seriously, if I had a daughter I’d want this bro dating her. This is the kind of bro that makes all bros around him better people. Keeping promises for over a decade, made when you were a child, who does that?!? Quite possibly the most feel good story I’ll read this year, I love it.
Feel free to share this with anyone in your life who might like a smile on their face, or needs a reminder of the importance of promise keeping!