sometimes the sun goes 'round the moon
I see the passion in your eyes
Sometimes It's all a big surprise
'Cause there was a time when all I did was wish
you'd tell me this was love
It's not the way I hoped or how I planned
but some how it's enough
And now we're standing face to face
Isn't this world a crazy place
Just when I thought our chance had passed
you go and save the best for last
All of the nights you came to me
when some silly girl had set you free
You wondered how you'd make it through
I wondered what was wrong with you
'Cause how could you give your love to someone else
and share your dreams with me
Sometimes the very thing you're looking for
is the one thing you can't see
But now we're standing face to face
Isn't this world a crazy place
Just when I thought our chance had passed
you'd go and save the best for last...
Saved The Best for Last- Vanessa Williams
For some inexplicable reason today I find myself feeling nostalgic- delving deep into the recesses of teenage memory. Which incidentally I swore I would NEVER do again, for so many reasons, not the least of which was that I loathed my teens. Correction- I loathed High School, I think I actually liked being a teenager. I can't help but think back to all the youth dances I attended with religious fervor, and all the Young Woman's camps I got to be a part of. And then the darker trouble-making side of me remembers all the boys I kissed that I probably shouldn't have, and all the dating opportunities I missed being a serial relationshipist. My parents were always telling me that I needed to go on dates which I thought I was doing and now realize I TOTALLY wasn't. I think I can count on one hand the number of "Dates" I went on before I got married at the tender age of 21.
I went from one boyfriend pretty much to the next- as if laser guided. Most of them were needy punks that had never worked a day in their lives, but whew they were hot. I think one boyfriend I had actually got me a C.D. for Christmas with the words budget written repeatedly over the plastic sealing- and that was after I got him his first tattoo... man what a gem. But I digress, the nostalgia I'm feeling stems more from the years where you might hear Forever Young, or What is Love? Played at a church dance.
I DID get asked to dance- but not nearly as often as I wanted to dance, so I did a LOT of asking- which suited me just fine. I also NEVER said no when asked, I always thought those girls were awful. There was enough room for a wide variety of dance partners in the music that got played, everything from the HATEFUL Y.M.C.A., to Snap's I've got the Power, and Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. Is it wrong that I can remember EVERY boy I slow danced with to that song? And even sneaking into the center of the crowd to get a little too close? I know some of you reading this will be disappointed to hear me confess my deviant ways- but this is MY blog, so get over it. November Rain was a good one too- especially when they played the extended version with Slash's guitar solo... Good times.
I remember getting ready for dances with my friends and making sure my earrings were big enough and my bangs tall enough- oh and what about the floral dresses, the kind with the white lace sailor collars? Those were jazzy weren't they? I think I even made one in Clothing and Textiles one year... it didn't matter, because half the guys were wearing those brightly coloured silk shirts- what a treat!
As I got older and a little/lot more rebellious it got much harder for me to keep myself from getting carried away on the dance floor- but for a while it was the perfect setting to just have some fun. And I still laugh when I think about all the times people would ask me if Mormons danced? We had so much fun, even the drives home were fun. I had one friend who used to play Chinese Fire Drill at every red light and we must have looked like a group of drunken punks but we weren't.
Good memories, mixed in with some painful growth and heartache... And I can't help but think about my own daughter who is now ten years old and not that far from making those kind of memories for herself. I hope she'll have the confidence to ask someone to dance if she wants to, and I think I'll encourage her not to say no... unless the guy's a creeper. I hope she can feel excited to go be with friends and make good choices- I don't think I'll mention the whole center of the crowd thing...
SO my lasting thought for the day? Well- I think you should go to your tapes and dust off your Vanilla Ice, Crash Test Dummies, and Smashing Pumpkins, and find yourself a cassette player. Then just let go as the music sweeps over you... and remember what it felt like to be in a very different place. Don't forget all that you used to be because it's helped to make you who you are today. Maybe you're lucky and your faves were and still are U2, Metallica, or Sarah Mclachlan, so there's new material and none of that patheticness. For those of you who have Justin Beiber or Hannah Montana fans at home, throw on some NKOTB or Backstreet Boys or Spice Girls for your kids... and tell them to enjoy it while it lasts.
And so in bidding you a fabulous day, I'd like to quote Lady Gaga; Just Dance!
