To know me is to know I live for a square dance.
We went to one at West Dublin Hall last spring and it was some of the most fun I have had as an adult. Embarrassing? Maybe. True? 100 per cent.
When I saw A) there was one coming in May to Old Confidence Lodge, I was ecstatic. And B) there was a family option from 4-6pm? I couldn’t buy four tickets fast enough.
The joy that dance brought me was because I got to have fun with friends and be a part of community with my kids, stress-free. It’s a feeling I have been trying to create ever since becoming a mom. (Dancing badly was just a plus.)
Kids are hectic and stressful in public (and everywhere). They’re always pulling something off a shelf, screaming or running into places they shouldn’t. They don’t care– they’re having the time of their lives. Meanwhile, parents are chasing after them with a string of apologies for their victims. You see the memes and mean tweets (or what do we call X’s now?) of airplane passengers ranting about sitting next to families and you wonder why parents often feel like most of the world is off-limits to them and their young kids.
I can’t stress enough the life-changing magic of a soft space, where kids are welcomed, and some accommodations are made for parents, even if it’s just the kindness of a stranger stopping your child from climbing on a table. Spain is famous for welcoming children into “adult” spaces like restaurants or late-night events. In Mexico, our kids felt like celebrities, with adults everywhere cooing over them and laughing off their antics.
That generosity was one of the reasons we ended up moving to the South Shore. We were visiting friends on vacation and noticed everywhere we went, people were interacting with our daughter, even offering her a seat at their table at the restaurant. It was a far cry from the West Coast where we always felt like an imposition.
This is all to say that we-parents notice the cookie concerts at the LSA, the all-ages show at Old Confidence, the family square dance, the toddler playtime at St John’s. These allow us to enjoy the experience without stress or embarrassment– and frankly we get to sit down for a minute. In a time without a lot of family help, these events are our village. Thank you.
Now, who’s coming square dancing?
