This past Saturday we had the opportunity to attend a 60’s themed dance being held by a local program that puts on activities and events for individuals with special needs.  The program is called SNAP (special needs activity program).  It is really neat how the Lord orchestrated our learning about SNAP through the free swim at the Y and one of Chris’ cadets.  

Skylar was really excited to go and after I was asked to help serve dinner to the attendees, we decided to make it a family event.  Skylar actually went online and googled different 60’s themed outfits to get an idea of what to wear.  We got a suede vest at Goodwill and I made the headband out of some brown cord that I picked up at Hobby Lobby and a sunflower I had in my craft stash.  I knew that it would be important for Skylar to be comfortable or she wouldn’t want to stay long.  

Before we left for the dance we took a bunch of portraits on the front porch.  The picture below was my absolute favorite!  It is a great picture of what it is like in our home.  Just complete silliness!  I told Chris that his glasses looked a bit more like Elton John than John Lennon!

Oh how I love this crazy man!  

When we got to the dance, Skylar immediately got into line to get her food.  I loved having the opportunity to serve dinner to the other attendees.  It gave me a chance to say hello to everyone.  So many smiles, so many thanks!

This was pretty much all Skylar cared about!  The food!  One of the guys she had met the week prior at bingo asked her if she wanted to dance and I heard her say “Nope!  I’m eating! I’ll dance later.”  

It was fun to watch Hailey and Chris eat dinner and chat.  They truly enjoy each other’s company.  

Not long after dinner, people started making their way on to the dance floor.   As I watched them start dancing, some by themselves and some as couples, I remarked to Chris that I loved how there was no pretense.  No one looked worried about what other people were thinking.  There wasn’t anybody in the corner whispering about anyone dancing.  There were only smiles, complete joy!  My heart was overwhelmed as I watched everyone dancing and saw all the caregivers just beaming.  These were truly our people!

Chris, Hailey, and I danced together for well over an hour.  Skylar didn’t want to be anywhere near us.  Total teenager!  While we were dancing, a sweet lady came up to me and shouted:

“Would you like to dance with me?  I am a FANTASTIC dancer!”

Well, how can you say no to that?

We danced for 3 or 4 songs and she sang her heart out the entire time.  It was awesome!  I loved hearing her sing all the 60’s music.  

One of my favorite parts of the night was watching Chris dance!  It was so funny. He had a blast.  He was definitely the guy all the ladies wanted to dance with.  He treated them all like princesses and they giggled with delight!  And just when I thought I couldn’t love this man any more than I already do, I watched as a lady in a wheelchair who was non-verbal reached out and grabbed his hand.  He took her hand, danced around her and just talked to her the whole time.  I fell more in love right there on the dancefloor!

The entire crowd errupted in cheering when the DJ played YMCA!  I told Chris that I was pretty sure that this was a 70’s song (it actually came out in 1978).  We figured that they must be playing a mix of 60’s and 70’s music.  That was until they played the Cha Cha slide, Celine Dion, and Taylor Swift.  That gave us a good laugh!  Not long after that, Skylar said her feet were tired and that she was hot!  These were both signals that she was done and ready to go home.

As we walked out to the car, both Hailey and Skylar remarked how much fun they had.  Chris and I definitely agreed that it was the most fun we’d had as a family in a long time.  One of the best comments of the evening came from Hailey. She said “I am so glad that I am a 21st century kid!  I could not have handled the clothes and the music of the 60’s!”  She is looking forward to the next dance, which is cowboy themed! (Can’t wait to see what Chris decides to wear to that one!)

We finished the night with a stop at our favorite frozen yogurt place and when Skylar walked out she said “This was the best night ever!”  I have to agree that it was pretty great!

And just to give you a little bit more of a glimpse into the silliness that is my family, I asked Chris and Skylar to look serious for a couple of pictures and this is what I got.

Heaven help me!

Make it a great week!

JuJu