So Absorbent!

If you are the parents of very young children, some part of your day probably consists of mentally drowning out the jingle of an insanely popular kid's TV show that evidently has more purchased airtime than CNN. Yes.You're going about your adult duties like the grown up grown person you are, not stopping for any reason except for the millisecond it takes you unconsciously mouth the answer to the questions posed by that jingle. 'Yat dat da da da da yat dat da da?' "Sponge-Bob-Square-Pants!" 'Yat dat da da da da yat dat da da?' "Sponge-Bob-Square-Pants!" It's like breathing. You don't notice. You mouth the answer in rhythm and you even do the whistle at the end but you don't notice that either. What you do notice (and at times rely on) is that no matter what time you turn on the TV, the maniacal laughter of that eternally optimistic cleaning pad will be there to greet you. It's the under age version of the movie Groundhog's Day. At some point will also spend time wrestling DVDs of  The Sponge (you know you own 'em) out of your child's hands, explaining to him/her that they should read a book, clean their room, play outside, color, anything other than watching the Krabby Patty flipping fry cook again. After all, Billy and I are a hard working couple trying to set the best example we can for our son and we're not going to let some mindless TV get in the way of that.We want him to learn to seek joy in every situation. Find the good in people. Take pride in his work. Be a loyal friend. We want him to learn never to lie, cheat, or steal anything no matter how small. It's like that time Squidward wanted to go on strike against Mr. Krabs because Krabs is so greedy and SpongeBob didn't know what striking was because he truly loves his job so much but he was being a loyal friend to Squiddy and happily went along with it thinking that it was a fun thing and... uh... well what we are trying to teach our son is that he has a purpose in life and he doesn't have to be a celebrity to have self worth. Like the time SpongeBob ripped his pants by accident and then because of the reaction by his friend Sandy the squirrel and the rest of the inhabitants of Bikini Bottom he thought he needed to keep ripping them in order to be funny and popular but then he learned that he was special just as he was because... well... I know it seems like... but it was actually a great lesson for... it was a pretty good episode. Okay, I can't be the only person who has noticed over time that aside from having a laugh that makes you want to bang your head against a brick wall to make it stop, the Bobster isn't such a bad little guy... sponge. He lives in a pineapple under the sea without one bit of concern for whether or not his pineapple will be featured on MTVs Cribs, he is honest, genuinely joyful, encouraging to everyone (even when people... uh fish are openly mean to him), he's hard working, helpful, and yes, funny as H-E-double hockey sticks! So here's the deal... even though sometimes it may seem like you are fighting a losing battle with everything your kids are being exposed to, remember you are the parent. You're in control. TV, like anything else can be used as a learning tool and you have the power to use it a little or not at all. Not to worry. You are your child's first and most important teacher, and they are soaking you up like a... well you know.

What Goes Around, Comes Around... and around...and around...

When Billy and I first got engaged, one of our favorite things to do was go to amusement parks and ride whatever was the biggest roller coaster over and over again. We'd go on a weekday while school was in and we'd have our way with whatever park we chose. Most of the time it was Goliath at Magic Mountain, and when they added bigger ones we'd conquer those. I say conquer because we were cocky about it. We'd go through the gates with a swagger knowing that we were going to ride at least fifteen times in a row. Our bodies could take any G forces a coaster could dish out. We could eat and go right back on. In fact we would eat in line so as not to lose momentum. This went on from whatever time we got there until the park closed. We watched as lesser couples, mere mortals, eventually went home. We threw our heads back, hands on our hips, Super capes blowing in the wind, and we laughed our hearty Super laugh. Leaving already? Ha ha! We're off to get Churros! Those were good times. Fast forward ten years later. We are taking our son to the indoor merry-go-round at the nearby mall for the first time. I elect to hold the "mommy bag" and all of Billy's stuff so that he could buy tokens (a handful of them) and take our little one on the ride. Now Elijah has eagle eyesight so he knows daddy has enough tokens to ride... oh at least fifteen times in a row. Elijah picks the cup that spins instead of a horse or elephant. Billy crams his six foot three frame into the tiny cup. He is unsuspecting. Innocent. Blinded by love for his son. It's the merry-go-round for goodness sake. Each cycle is only like a minute long. It's tame. It's for children. It's... spinning faster than anything I've ever seen in my life! When the minute is up, Elijah leaps out of the cup and runs around to the front of the ride. My big strong husband has been replaced by a shaking, wobbling, shell of a man and he's... green. "Again daddy!". The look on Billy's face is hysterical and I'm loving holding the "mommy bag" right now. I mouth the word 'wussy' to him as he pitifully gears himself up for another cycle. Another dizzying minute passes and Elijah seems to be gaining strength from the revolutions. Billy is more shaky, much more wobbly, and greener than algae. "AGAIN DADDY!!!". "Mommy should take a turn. We don't want to leave mommy out.", Billy says."No daddy, you and me five more times, then me and mommy." OHHHHHHHHH SNAAAAAAAAP!!! Somehow, after the third go round Billy convinced our son it was time to eat. Actually I think he said if we didn't stop for lunch we were going home. That always does it for a child. At some point during lunch (Billy couldn't eat) the "mommy bag" conspicuously moved over to my husband's side in preparation for me to take over spinning cup duties. I had been cracking on him for the last hour and welcomed the chance to prove that he was being a big baby. I happily jump into the cup with our son. The ride starts. It's not Magic Mountain but hey, we're parents and this is so much fun, so cute, so... sickening, I think I'm going to vomit my skin off! What is this carousel of pain?! Now Billy is all 'I told you!' and I'm trying not to fall to my knees. I'm also trying to keep Elijah from noticing that Billy has five thousand tokens left in his pocket. I am not going to ride this four more times! Mommy's not goin' down like that! I tell Elijah that the rest of the tokens only work for the other little games and such in the mall and steer him in their direction. I know. I lied to my son. But the bile was rising in my throat. I panicked. As Elijah bounced over to the games, Billy and I walked close behind him holding on to each other for dear life because the mall was still spinning. Fearful that this was an indication of our getting older, we chalked up our sickness to the fact that the cup was spinning inside something that was already spinning. Yeah, that's it! Of course. We still got it. We're still the coolest coaster riders everrrrrrrrr! Fast forward a few months later. We take Elijah to Disneyland and he begs us to go on Space Mountain. That's our ride! I'm proud and terrified at the same time. He's only four. How could he not be afraid? I know Billy and I can handle it because Space Mountain is our light work, if you know what I mean. Billy assures me our boy can take it, so we swagger in. It's darker than we remember. Faster too. I remember being able to hold my hands in the air but for some reason they're locked around the safety bar in a Kung Fu death grip. Before the ride comes to a complete stop, Elijah is already yelling to go again. I'm proud and terrified at the same time. He's only four! How can he not feel the onslaught of nausea that Billy and I are now feeling? We stagger out. What?! Not Space Mountain too. Please Lord, not like this! We wobble our way back to the beginning of the line with bouncy boy right in front of us. Ohh prepares you for losing your coolness. So, eighteen year olds call me ma'am. So what?! At least that's respectful. What really hurts is that I'm pretty sure I saw a younger couple mocking us that night. We were on our way home. Early. They threw their heads back and laughed, their Super capes blowing in the wind. They were eating Churros.

Shake Your Beauty!

My husband and I just finished celebrating National Dance Day with all of our Dance With Me family and their families and friends. In addition to having the absolute best time, I was really moved by the look on everyone's faces as they danced.We challenged them to "bring it" and they did! These were men, women, and children who are not professional dancers and over half of them consider themselves to be shy or introverted. Yet, here we all were on a sunny Saturday outside surrounded by two hundred other people who cheered on or joined in at various times. The power of music and dance. What I saw was what it looks like when one feels supported and encouraged and loved. No one was judging anyone else. We don't allow that in our classes anyway. I saw freedom and pure joy in their faces and it was... beautiful. In a city where "networking" is often mistaken for connecting, I saw people look each other in the eye and really see. There was a soul blending that, in my opinion, was very Avatar... except without the tail touching thing. They were exposed,  vulnerable, honest, sweaty and it was BEAUTIFUL ! Why can't that be on the cover of a magazine for a change? No fights broke out. No one got drunk and made a scene.The party went on for hours and everyone  remembered every bit of what went on the next day. But I was struck by the glow on each person's face.There are many products on the market to help simulate a glow but this was the real thing. And it came from the love we all share for dancing and how it makes us feel. Billy and I felt so grateful to be a part of it. The very best way I can describe it is this: You know when shows like Nova or the Discovery Channel show the fast motion footage of a flower from bud to full bloom? You get to see how many times the stem sways from side to side as it's growing and moving toward the light. That's how we feel watching our students work it on the dance floor. With much of our society focusing on artificial attractiveness, it is such a blessing to be surrounded by all that natural beauty. So here's the deal... the next time you start to feel that you are not pretty or handsome enough, stop right there and work what your mama or papa gave ya and dance it out like it's a Friday night because there's nothing more beautiful than your "glow" light!