Down the Rabbit Hole

The Joy of Dancing in Pajamas

These last few weeks have been filled with tenuous moments, stress and strain. If I attempted to count the times I smiled, I would barely get through the fingers on one hand. Challenges may define us but they also can leave us feeling drained and tired. My patience has worn thin and as a result there have been far few moments of fun, even with an animated preschooler in our midst. Yesterday, I picked up Jaden from school, she had actually taken a nap at school for the first time in two years and she was fresh-faced and energized. Her wide smile and high-spirited cackle was infectious. On a whim I told her that night, since it was just she and I, we would have a dance party. Music and movement are two of Jaden's most favorite things and my sudden suggestion provoked happy cheers and clapping from my backseat companion. We breezed through dinner and shower time and as soon as Jaden was outfitted in her pink polka dot jammies, she brought me my ipod. "It's time to dance!" she announced.

And dance we did. We danced with shaking hips and shoulder-shimmies, with whirling arms and twirling bodies. We sang along too loudly and invented new moves like the "shy ladybug gig". We jumped and rolled on the bed, and dipped and spun. I taught her "the Sprinkler" and every move I could remember from the Breakfast Club movie. My daughter was ecstatic and I was free, if only for the time, from all the worries and troubles that plagued me. There wasn't anything more I had to do right at that moment then take simple delight it watching my daughter getting groovy and loosing myself in her crazy, chaotic rhythms. All the mattered was having fun, making her laugh and holding her little body against mine, her little painted toes sweeping out in an arch as we rocketed around in a circle. The big dog, intrigued by our antics, pranced around us as if he were crashing our dance party too, making Jaden erupt into a fit of giggles. After the last song, we both jumped on the bed, breathing hard but smiling and feeling really very good. Never underestimate the joy of dancing in pajamas.