Doin' the Monster Mash...

This weekend I got all dolled up as Scarlett O'Hara, went to a Halloween party, and danced my ass off with a bunch of underaged kids movin' to the sounds of Lady Gaga and Usher.

Yup.  You guessed it.  I was a chaperone at Izzy's 5th grade Halloween dance.

I had no idea what to expect.  I was of course just a bit flipped out about my oldest daughter going to a boy/girl dance. She is still so young to me.  I had visions of me having to endure watching her awkwardly boogie with a boy who comes up to her shoulders.  As far as I was concerned, she wasn't ready.  I knew I wasn't.

This dance was scary for me.  Izzy's been my baby for 10 years!  An now, she was venturing into the world of boy/girl activities and I, having been a teen myself, know what's waiting for her.  I know that one day, any day, she'll "turn."  She'll be embarrassed by me.  She'll be watching the boys and giggling.   As far as I was concerned, this 5th grade dance was only the beginning.

But it turned out that the boys and girls were one big mosh pit in the center of the room and the MC (a dad of one of the kids) played games with the kids and got them all out on the dance floor one at a time.  Not a whiff of romantic tension and the kids had such a great time!  The girls spent most of the night squealing every time a "good" song came on, and the boys threw themselves onto the floors, sliding, spinning and trying to look "urban."  Which is really funny for a bunch of 5th graders.

The only moment of boy/girl awkwardness was when the MC did a little "Soul Train" action.  The boys lined up on one side - girls on the other.  Then they bolted straight down the dance path arms crossed  - eager to get their turn over with.  Which actually wasn't the awkward part.  The awkward part was when the kids had to watch me in my big hoop dress strut and wobble and roll down the danceway with one of the teachers.  I do love to dance. 

Izzy danced there on the sidelines cheering for me as I strutted.  No embarrassed at all.  In fact, she tried to keep me on the floor dancing all night! Scarlett O'Hara never had such a good time. 

The night ended with all the kids using tickets they earned to pick out prizes.  The parents were relieved, and exhausted.  Grateful nothing happened over the course of the night that indicated our children had in fact turned into teenagers.

Yeah.  We all got our little kids back at the end of the night.  Phew.