Saturday, February 13, 2010

Dancing Queen? Not so much.

The song playing was "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" by The Police. She was at the bar getting a drink when he walked in and spotted her. She looked over and caught his eye. He smiled, glad to have found someone in the group he was there to meet. She smiled back, glad to see someone from the group she recognized as well and glad to see him in particular. Though she would never admit it, he was the reason she decided to go to the dance at the last minute when she could have just as easily stayed home. Now she just had to figure out how to stay close and dance the night away with him without looking obvious...

That's how it would have gone if I ruled the universe and it would have ended well. The song playing was "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" and I was getting a drink. Two of them actually-cranberry juice and water. And cute Meetup Guy was supposed to be there, but if he was, I never saw him. We are a hard group to miss and he's met several of us more than once so he knew who to look for. I was a little disappointed he never showed up but I still had fun, which was really the point of my going in the first place.

I am not a dancer. I have no sense of rhythm but for once I didn't let that stop me from going out and dancing the night away. It was 80's night at the Crystal Ballroom. You can't go wrong with 80's music and seeing all the music videos from my youth was such a fun trip down memory lane. This group I belong to states it is about inclusion and everyone is there to have fun so I had plenty of people to dance with-namely my buddy who is in his 60's and who recently (unknowingly) told me just what I needed to hear: that I am one of the fun ones. He was also sweet enough to walk me to my car at the end of the night so I wouldn't have to brave the scary parking garage alone. And then there was a newcomer to the group who is a lot closer to my age and who is not hard to look at.

The co-founder of the group was hard to watch. His energy and dancing style reminded me so much of James that it about knocked my breath away. I didn't want to watch him, yet I couldn't take my eyes off him either. But he left early. Last year at this time, I think it would have been I that left early because I wouldn't have been able to handle that without breaking down.

The night reminded me of my high school dances except there were a lot more people, no curfew and alcohol wasn't available for purchase at those dances. (Though I wouldn't be surprised if it was available). I was watching the college kids (they weren't from our group) having a great time together and realized that if I had given birth at 15, one of them could have been my child. That was a very disturbing and creepy thought. Though it could have been funny too-me going out for a night on the town, hoping to connect with a cute boy. On the other side of town, my college-aged daughter wants to blow off steam and she and her friends decide to go dancing because the cute boy from her math class and his friends are going to be there...(I'm not really sure why she doesn't live at home; I'm going to go with her living on campus for the full college experience. I'm still trying to get over the shock that I could conceivably have a 21-year-old).

Throughout the night, I noticed a couple from our group dancing and having a great time together. I have seen him at events before but they have been larger events and I haven't really met him. I met her at a movie event, which was a small gathering and she is really nice. As the night wore on, I realized they were together. I asked her at one point if they were a couple before or if they met through the group. She said that they met through the group-that neither of them were looking but he is absolutely perfect for her and she has never been happier (there is a picture of her on the website taken last night and she looks absolutely radiant). That gave me hope. Maybe MH #2 is someone I will meet through this group. Maybe I already have and just don't know it. Yet.

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