There is no mercy. While I try to keep my family’s privacy, and don’t post many things here, nor share the ridiculously funny pictures we snap of each others, nor the semi-inappropriate things we talk and have us rolling laughing, when it comes to living life to the fullest and this story, it’s just too good not to share, and I hope it will inspire you too.
This post could be also titled “live a little and drink wine,” because an excellently easy-drinking two bottles of Spanish Cabernet Savignon resulted in the best at home dance party in our home last night. Or maybe it could be titled “live a little and invite family over” – because our wild dance party consisted of family members only.
Quite frankly, we didn’t know what to expect. And in fact what we had planned was a (lame) family movie night watching a family friendly movie, all nine of us sitting on the same gigantic couch, and hoping it would be a great activity to have something to do for both sets of our parents; mine and my husband’s. One set of parents from Texas, another one from Finland, and them meeting each others the second time despite our 14 years of marriage.
When my parents arrived yesterday morning, the kids pulled everyone together around the table and the Summer Olympics of UNO playing was kicked off immediately, USA versus Finland. It’s a long lasting tradition in my family that before an UNO tournament starts, the prize for the winner – or the task, often embarrassing one, for the loser is determined. Yesterday UNO tournament loser was set to perform a dance act in the front of everyone after dinner.
Maybe it was the team USA member’s inspiring dancing,
maybe it was the wine,
maybe it was the spirit of Sweden and exploring this new country,
maybe it was the iPod dock’s convenient location in the dining room,
and the easiness of using Spotify and getting the wide array of dance music easily available,
maybe it was the joy of having all of us together, our families joined together, everyone seeing our family’s happiness and having the love for our children to share,
maybe it was the combination of it all that made us to “cross the limit of crazy,” as my daughter said.
We crossed the limit of crazy by dancing every single multi-generational family dance song starting from the chicken dance, continuing to the hokey pokey, moving our hips in the tunes of lambada and macarena, and topping it all off by doing the conga train from the dining room to outside on the patio through the kitchen and back. From Texan line dancing to Finnish humppa dancing, from samba tunes to country twang, it all happened in our dining room dance floor. Pee-in-your-pants-funny and dance-til-you-can’t-breathe-serious. All in the one night’s dancing.
Dancing is good for your body, and it’s good for our soul, and it’s good for your family. My father always sort of laughed at our love for dancing when I was growing up, but about 7 years ago my mother finally got him to take dance lessons. “I thought dancing was not for real men, but I’m glad I didn’t waste my entire life without dancing, it’s fun and what a great exercise!” he said and loves it now. And we prove it last night: dancing doesn’t have language nor cultural barriers, and opening your heart and moving your feet in the tunes of music from a different culture is a better ice breaker than you could ever imagine.
If we were able to get two completely different sets of parents from two different cultures to jam around the dining room together – I can’t wait to hear what you can get accomplished in yours when you crank up the music and start dancing.
We? We will take this show on the road and start touring Sweden now packed in two cars with both of our parents.
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