Tonight was the Fall Festival at the kids' school. My other Fall Festival experience was at #1's previous elementary school and it was all-out, all over the school, games coming out of every crevice, cupcakes, soda pop, and candy out your ears. This year whoever was in charge was a Mom after my own heart. She had a few awkward, but cheerful middle-schoolers slide some $5 pizza from Little Caesars onto our plates, slapped us with an Oreo or two, put a bottle of water in our hands and sent us on our way. Then in a room that serves as an extension of the cafeteria she had a DJ pounding out Top 40 music for all the costumed kids to bop around to.
My initial thought was, "Weird. Booming music for six-year olds?" Then I saw all these giddy Spidermans and Stormtroopers and Ariels and ninjas and the sweetest three-year old Yoda-girl ever dancing without any shame in their game, smiling, laughing, letting it all fly. And I had to admit that my own foot was tapping - I threw in a shimmy or a shake toward #6 here and there because I knew he'd appreciate such a gesture and I had to let it out. What sealed the deal on me thinking maybe a dance-party was okay for the under eleven set, was when I saw #1 through #4 out on the floor. #1 to #3 got in a circle and went crazy in the security of the sibling bond - throwing their hands in the air, with miscellaneous karate chops from the boys, and jumping up and down. #4, true to her social self, went and held hands with Tinkerbell and a Princess and danced in a circle with them reveling in her fullness of friendship.
I have to say my oldness came out a time or two, I mean it was LOUD, I said LOUD, I said the music was LOUD. I felt like the beat of the songs was trying to take over the rhythm of my heart and I wasn't so sure my heart could handle it - like I'm not sure my knees can take the pounding of long distance running anymore. Oldness.
It was a memory-maker for sure - another petal in the flower of what their childhood has been up to this point. Three cheers for the PTO.
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