The Dance

 I have always loved to dance.  I remember being in ballet and majorettes as a kid.  I remember wearing my Mom's old dance costumes every year for Hallowe'en, and looking at pictures from her dance days, and wanting to be just like her.  I remember junior high and high school dances, trying to let myself go and look cool, in that awkward way that kids do.  And I remember being in cheerleading, learning precise dance routines as a group, practicing for days to perfect them, and the confidence that came from performing as a group.  To this day, I still love to dance.

But something changes as you get older.  Society becomes much more important, and people's opinions start to influence you more and more.  I admire people who can dance really well - but I am not one of them.  If we go out now, I spend most of the time sitting in my chair, building up the confidence to let myself loose.  And I'll only do it if someone else is going to put themselves out there with me.  Somewhere along the way, my childhood confidence has given way to reservedness.

And then, I had babies.  And those babies started to get older.  And I saw in them the first signs of dancing as an expression of happiness beginning to emerge.  Like my husband and I, our kids love music.  And when they hear it, they can't help but to allow their bodies to follow the rhythm. 

With each child I had, more choas entered my life, and thus more need for an outlet.  There was a time when I would feel really silly blasting the music and dancing around my house.  And I don't do it when I'm all by myself.  But I do quite often with my kids, and I find that it helps me let myself go.  We bounce around, we laugh, and we're silly - and it doesn't matter how foolish we look.  In fact, that makes it all the better.  When the kids start to move and I respond by doing the same, their little faces light up, and it makes my life.  And while it might seem that I am the one doing them the favor by taking time out of my busy schedule to play them, it is really they who are doing the favor for me.  By encouraging me to take a minute and play as they play.  No wonder kids are so happy all the time!

Whoever you are, whatever you are doing today, my prayer for you is that you take a few minutes to yourself, put on your favorite music, and dance like no one is watching!