First dance

Another Allie milestone. Friday was her first boy/girl dance. Her first junior high dance! Her school has dances during the school day. If a student has all of their assignments in and is doing well they can elect to go to "activities"- games, movies, basketball- or the dance. Back in October during the first dance/activity day, she went to activities. She was still kind of adjusting socially to the junior high world and hadn't slipped into a group of girlfriends.

Now every weekend is a social whirl. In my desire to help her along socially, I offered to drive her and friends to movies, mall whatever. Now, I'm the mom that will drive people places. I think of it as my second job- I manage Allie's social calendar and coordinate transportation.

So, last Thursday, the night before the dance I also served as stylist- we looked at various wardrobe choices. She ended up wearing brown tee shirt with a green cami underneath and a really cute, funky peasant skirt. She looked very adorable. I told her, "Hey! I have Friday off, I could come chaperone the dance!"

Allie's response: "NO!"

(I offered to chaperone in my pink sheep pajamas and to pester the DJ to play Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall")

Then I generously offered to show her some moves from my junior high dance days, "So Allie, when they play 'Waiting for a girl like you' from the Foreigner 4 album, you like sway your hips like..." Then I proceed to do a really bad dance.

Allie: "Okay. Sad. They aren't playing old music. Mom, I don't know who told you that you had 'moves'" (she even did the air quotes around "moves")

I really derive a lot of pleasure from teasing Allie with my earnest mom routine. She knows the game but can't help rolling her eyes and getting a little exasperated with me. The other little trick is trying to squeeze information out of her about boys.

"So, is that one person, oh what was his name, that cute boy....will he be at the dance?"

Allie: "Mom- you aren't fooling anyone."

So, thankfully she's not boy crazy, and there is no one boy she really likes. Which I think is great because she's 12!! There shouldn't be a boy. There should be friends, movies, pizzas, sleepovers, new clothes and music. All of which she is into.

So, even though she didn't share a lot of info., the dance went well- she danced with her girlfriends, all except the last dance, the slow dance. They all sat that one out.

Judging by the giddiness of the sleepover she had at our place Friday night- the dance was a lot of fun.

Considering that Allie is beautiful, insanely intelligent and a sweet, wonderful person I doubt the no boy dances will continue...but you never know, a mom in sheep pajamas with some fierce '80s dance moves could scare 'em off for quite awhile.