The School Dance Milestone

My son went to his first dance on Friday. I think I was more excited about it than he was. At first he didn't even want to go, he said he wasn't interested. I wasn't surprised, he's a quiet kid that enjoys hanging out at home with his brothers. But I felt like he should go--that he should get out there and socialize a bit--meet more kids--have some fun--bust a move.

After some gentle pushing (you can go with your friends, you don't really have to dance, you can buy some snacks), my husband and I finally got him to change his mind. I was thrilled that he was going to attend. This was another milestone--the first dance. I rushed home after picking up my daughter from soccer, hoping to get a picture as he left for the scrapbook but I missed him. I'm sure he would have avoided me and my camera but I would have tried to capture the moment.

While he was away, I wondered..... Is he having fun? Is he dancing? Who is hanging around? Is he chatting with any girls? I couldn't wait to pepper him with questions when he returned. My husband warned me, "You know he is not going to say much." "Don't expect to get a lot out of him." I knew that was probably true, but that wasn't going to stop me from trying to pull any little detail I could out of him.

My son came home and my quest for information went something like this.... "How did it go?" "Fine." "Did you have fun?" "Kind of." I was not going to give up, I needed more...."Did you dance?" "No." "Who did you hang out with?" He named a few friends (no female classmates were mentioned). My husband threw me an "I told you so" glance. And then just as my son was about to go upstairs, he stopped and started telling us how he was hanging out with his buddies and how they were throwing him up in the air (go figure), how he had a lot of fun and was glad he went. I was amazed that he was providing us with more than grunts and monosyllabic answers!

I realized that this was probably all the info I was going to get. But I was satisfied. He had a great time, he was glad he went and he successfully made it through another one of life's milestones!