And She Danced
My friend Ali's parents threw a party for her graduation from high school. Interesting circumstances as dad had been transferred to London last year with mom following in May. She lived with a family from our church and graduated early...and the party coincided with her 18th birthday and kind of a "going away" deal, too. The "going away" will only be temporary as she's moving back here for her university studies. She's precisely the kind of daughter you'd throw a party like that for.
There was a nice dinner.
There was a nice toast by her father, who had a nice balance of embarrassing moments, touching stories and inside jokes.
There was singing "happy birthday" (and teenagers still playfully blurt out "cha cha cha" in all the right places) and a cake.
There was a DJ who played songs from all over the map: Motown to Justin Timberlake to showtunes (Ali loves 'em).
And, it wasn't long before the parents' friends segregated off toward the back of the room and the teenagers hit the dance floor. Well, the girls hit the dance floor. The boys took a while, but they got there.
They boot-scooted and boogied.
They brought sexy back.
They all wanted R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Greased Lightnin' came and went.
They did the "thriller" dance in unison (I'm not sure where everybody picked up on that as it was before most of them were born).
They had fun.
I'm a sucker for community like the one we experienced. Lots of villagers helped raise that child--with her parents leading the charge brilliantly.
I'm a sucker for celebrating milestones as I don't think we do it enough or very well, for that matter.
I'm a sucker for teenagers and the enthusiasm they bring.
I'm a sucker for my daughters.
And, I'm proud of Ali. I told her that, too. I know it hasn't been easy for her to graduate early so she could join her family over an ocean. She's a sharp person, and I'm glad we're friends.
And, while I hoped that we'd have a good time and celebrate and enjoy the moment all on it's very own...
...I secretly couldn't wait until my daughters get to some serious milestones to celebrate their first steps into being viewed as adults, and I'm sure they'll do so with the same graciousness Ali showed...
...manalive, that would just be icing on the cake.
My friend Ali's parents threw a party for her graduation from high school. Interesting circumstances as dad had been transferred to London last year with mom following in May. She lived with a family from our church and graduated early...and the party coincided with her 18th birthday and kind of a "going away" deal, too. The "going away" will only be temporary as she's moving back here for her university studies. She's precisely the kind of daughter you'd throw a party like that for.
There was a nice dinner.
There was a nice toast by her father, who had a nice balance of embarrassing moments, touching stories and inside jokes.
There was singing "happy birthday" (and teenagers still playfully blurt out "cha cha cha" in all the right places) and a cake.
There was a DJ who played songs from all over the map: Motown to Justin Timberlake to showtunes (Ali loves 'em).
And, it wasn't long before the parents' friends segregated off toward the back of the room and the teenagers hit the dance floor. Well, the girls hit the dance floor. The boys took a while, but they got there.
They boot-scooted and boogied.
They brought sexy back.
They all wanted R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Greased Lightnin' came and went.
They did the "thriller" dance in unison (I'm not sure where everybody picked up on that as it was before most of them were born).
They had fun.
I'm a sucker for community like the one we experienced. Lots of villagers helped raise that child--with her parents leading the charge brilliantly.
I'm a sucker for celebrating milestones as I don't think we do it enough or very well, for that matter.
I'm a sucker for teenagers and the enthusiasm they bring.
I'm a sucker for my daughters.
And, I'm proud of Ali. I told her that, too. I know it hasn't been easy for her to graduate early so she could join her family over an ocean. She's a sharp person, and I'm glad we're friends.
And, while I hoped that we'd have a good time and celebrate and enjoy the moment all on it's very own...
...I secretly couldn't wait until my daughters get to some serious milestones to celebrate their first steps into being viewed as adults, and I'm sure they'll do so with the same graciousness Ali showed...
...manalive, that would just be icing on the cake.
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