Dance party

According to the weather forecast, this pansy warm weather we've been having (between 30 and 45, with 30mph winds) is about to give way to some REAL weather. Snow, wind, deep freeze, etc. We wouldn't want to have a cushy life now, would we? Hopefully it doesn't hit too soon; today is the last day of second son's 5th grade full-on ballroom dance class, and parents are invited to the closing "dance party," in which the kids have to dress up (shirt and tie) and perform what they've learned. I am so there! Second son has vowed to erase the camera if I take any pictures. He is mortified by the entire course. Of course, he isn't alone--the mother of his classmate down the street says her son tries to be sick every Friday in hopes he won't have to go dance. At least it will be over soon. But I can't help being amused at all of the "civilization" courses my kids have been subjected to since we moved here. Germany was really good on Selbstaetigkeit (taking the initiative to do things for yourself instead of waiting for someone to do it for you), and our kids really needed that. Now they're getting the rough edges knocked off and are having to learn etiquette--from someone other than their parents. I think they'd rather do long division than be forced into this kind of civilization, lol. Hopefully they survive all this education!

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Dance party 2

Oh, my. That was an entertaining hour! I'm thinking they might get more practical-life benefit out of doing this in eight grade as opposed to fifth, but for pure spectator entertainment, it was great. I sat with the moms of two other boys in the class. One of them threw away his invitation to the event, so she had no idea he was supposed to dress up. (About half the boys had on t-shirts, even though they were supposed to have shirt and tie.) A number of parents had no idea this class was even going on until the invitation to this even came home. The girls were all taller than the boys, by a lot in some cases, and while the girls looked kind of interested in dancing, the boys look like they were getting acupuncture on their eyeballs something. Torture!! The class was a ballroom dance/etiquette class, so they today, besides showing off their dance skills, the teachers taught them how to sit properly in a chair at a dance party, as well as how to take someone's arm to escort them (or be escorted). I have to admit that um, I'm kinda with my 5th grader on some of that. Even as an adult, the idea of someone instructing me on how to "sit pretty" or "sit strong" feels a little like someone telling me my natural self has something wrong with it? But um, I was never in dance classes or anything like that. I mean, yes, it looks nice when people are sitting up straight and turned attentively toward the person they're conversing with. But it's hard to think of being instructed like that without being shrunk to adolescence, with people putting a spotlight on you, you clod, to show you how awkward and wrong you are. So...yeah.

The dancing part was just hysterical to watch--all the boys, not just mine, had such looks of AGONY on their faces, and most of them sort of bumbled along, trying to pretend that they simply didn't exist. Man. I realize that at some point dancing might be fun--or at least, not so torturous--but I have to admit that I'm SO glad a person only has to go through adolescence once!