Our First Family Dance

My prince charming and I before we left for the ball

We were invited by a board member and a school staff friend to attend their church's family dance, and we were surprised to discover that a large majority of our school's rhetoric faculty including the rhetoric principal (my supervisor), the headmaster, and one of the key founders of our school were all members of this church with families in attendance.  We weren't sure what to expect, but it was easier when the kids and I all saw so many people we knew from school.  The hymn and doxology singing at the beginning and end were a breath of fresh air, the band was fantastic, the company so kind and hospitable, and the dances were fabulous fun. (Gift #966)

Our family of four ready for the introductory march to kick off the dance

At this dance, each boy must first ask the girl's father for permission to ask his daughter to dance.  I was impressed by the courage and manners these young gentlemen displayed. (Gift #967) My husband had a waiting list of young men so long he lost track of who was next in line. My daughter lamented the fact that these boys were so young, but I told her to count her blessings, for by the end of her first dance at age 10, she had been asked to dance by more fellows than I had by age 18. 

Our son pretended that he dreaded the whole ordeal, but I saw a lot of genuine smiles while he danced with cute little gals.  I tried to get him to dance with me at the end, but by then, he just wanted to wrestle with the other little boys on the floor.  He was all danced out by the end of the first 90 minute set. He was all about the delicious snacks, too, as was I with the rich chocolate spread.

I love how comfortable my introverted, yet super fun husband is on the dance floor.

We had way more fun than we expected or intended!

Many of the songs were mixers, so we got to dance with other faculty and students.  Our school feels so much like a family, so that should be not feel awkward, but it was just so different from my high school experience, that I felt a little awkward dancing with the literature teacher and with one of my students.

My husband and daughter swing other partners during this lively Russian dance.

The last dance of the evening was by far the most exciting, but I gave up my chance to dance so that my daughter could dance with her daddy, and I'm so glad I did. (Gift #968) Whenever I look at these pictures, Stephen Curtis Chapman's weepy song, "Cinderella" plays in my mind, and I tear up a little...or a maybe a lot.  Of course, when I watched them dance in person to this fast paced, high energy Russian dance, the slow rhythms of "Cinderella" would have certainly been out of place.

Here is the music video:

Cinderella - Steven Curtis Chapman (Official Music Video) from steven-curtis-chapman on GodTube.

Of course, I guess if my husband had sung "Lady in Red" to me, then I would have felt like Cinderella. (Ha!) But words can't express how thankful I am to have such a loving, devoted, Christ honoring father for my children.  He's the best. (Gift #969)