For a couple of weeks now, Gavin and I had a plan to take over the dance floor. We were going to break it down like the famous Mother/son dance scene on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. We practiced all of our dance moves every week. And I thought we were ready...
The evening started out pretty well. Gavin was in a rush to get his new dressy outfit on, as I took my time getting myself dolled up. He was anxious to get to the dance, and even ran ahead of me,to very courteously, hold open the doors. He reminded me so much of his daddy, and it was obvious that he had been watching his dad's every move. We signed in our names at the front door, and were directed to the cafeteria. At that moment a very tall, blond, cute girl came up to Gavin to tell him that he looked very handsome. I just turned my head to act as if I hadn't seen anything. But inside I was smiling with glee.
We took some seats against the wall, and waited for the music to start. And when it did, he didn't move. For a few moments we watched as mostly the little girls danced with their dads. I put my hand on his shoulder and asked, "So you ready to show them what we got?" He shyly replied, "Umm, not really." I couldn't believe that my, very outgoing, son was struck with stage fright! He didn't move an inch. A few songs had played, and he still wouldn't budge. The dance floor was already packed full of children getting down. Then they played the Cupid Shuffle. This was our jam! I pulled him on the dance floor, and he just stood in place...frozen...like a miniature statue. So I just danced around him. When the song ended he quickly ran back to his chair. It was then, that the cute, tall, blond girl came up to him and asked if he wanted to dance. He said, "no thanks." Ugh. She just smiled and walked away. (I knew that in a few years he would regret that!) He looked at me as if he was going to cry. And he told me he was ready to go home. We had only been there for a total of twenty minutes!
I was shocked with how shy he was acting. All the notes I get from the teacher clearly tell me that he is not a shy kid. Not a week goes by that I don't get a note explaining how much of a class clown he is. I told him that we could go home after we got our picture taken, and after we got a little bite to eat. Even while we waited in the line for photos, he was holding back tears. I had to beg him to show a little smile.
After that we got our tickets for our meals. While looking for a seat, he ran into a few of his 'talking buddies' from class. Specifically a little blue eyed boy named Riley. He seemed to come out of his shell a little more. Riley and him shared some information about Lego Star Wars, and Riley ended the conversation with, "Well I'm done, and ready to dance!" I had some hope that my son would join him. When we headed back to the dance floor, Riley's mother and I were bummed that they had turned it into a mini carnival. The music was not as loud as it was before. But Gavin did get on the dance floor... to play some football with Riley. I was just glad to see a smile on his face.
Then Riley answered my prayers. He challenged Gavin to a "dance off". And my little guy broke it down. He came out of his shell. And for the remainder of the dance, he busted out moves that I had never seen before. And it wasn't long before there were about eight boys dancing in a circle challenging each other. Just like a man, all he needed was a little challenge to show what he had. Before the night ended, I suggested to him to find Suzanna (the tall, cute, blondie). And to my surprise, he walked up to her, as she sat in her pink polka dot dress, and asked her to dance. She smiled and accepted.
By the time the dance ended, he was all sweaty, and dusty from doing break dancing on the floor. And I was just happy that his first dance ended just as well as I hoped. He walked me to the truck, and held my hand to make sure I didn't slip on the ice. When we got into the truck, he said..."Mom, I had an awesome time." And even though I didn't get the chance to break it down as we planned...that was the only thing I really wanted to hear. <3
Goodbye to my favorite pair of running shoes. Together we shared many miles and memories. Without you, I would not be where I am today.
