Let's hustle

“That’s it!” My husband announced with bravado as he came barging through the front door. “Call your Mom and see if she’ll come watch the kids. We’re going to that dance class you’ve been talking about – it’s tonight, isn’t it?”

I couldn’t believe my ears and wondered if he had snuck over to the Honey Wagon Brewery after work with the guys.

“The one at the Parks and Rec?” I asked, afraid to get my hopes up too high.

“Yes, and don’t look so surprised,” he said to my obvious shock. “Can’t a man take his wife for a night on the town?” He wrapped his arms around me and asked, “What will they be teaching us tonight?”

“The Waltz,” I answered excitedly. A look of terror suddenly came over him as he realized we wouldn’t be line dancing. I wrangled free and grabbed the phone to quickly call my mother before he could change his mind.

“A dancing engineer is a real rarity,” my Mother explained her expedited arrival to the children as she rushed through the door. “Something one might see only once in a lifetime.”

“Unless you live here,” said my daughter informatively. “Daddy does air guitar all the time.”

“I’m sure one needs to see that to fully appreciate it,” said my Mother. “You two should show us a dance before you go so that we can fully grasp all the progress you’ve made once you get back from class.”

My husband suddenly broke out in his famous air guitar, complete with puckered lips and squinted eyes. He then grabbed me by the arm and twirled me around. I spun and stopped in an exaggerated stance and we continued this improvisation until it was time to get going.

When we returned, exhausted and dragging, our younger two were waiting for us in their jammies, scrubbed clean and smelling like Johnson and Johnson. Gotta love Grandma!

“Show us what you learned tonight,” they said skidding to a stop in their footie pajamas.

My husband began counting out our steps as we methodically circled the living room looking like we were practicing for the prom. I even caught a glimpse of my oldest son watching us from across the room.

My mother nodded approvingly admitting that our Waltz was very well done, but my younger two weren’t nearly as enthusiastic as we’d hoped.

“I liked it better the other way,” said my daughter sheepishly.

“What happened to the spin?” My younger son asked disappointed.

“That’s something we’ll learn in next week’s lesson,” I explained.

“They miss the star-like quality we radiated in the original version,” my husband said to me doing his best John Travolta pose. The younger two jumped up and down clapping wildly, knowing that the fun was about to start.

“True skill,” my husband continued, pausing intentionally while brushing his hair back, “...is knowing how to please your audience.” He suddenly picked me up and spun me around, which went over quite well with our spectators.

The rest of the evening was spent teaching the kids disco. Even my older son, wanting to participate, downloaded music from online.

My younger son displayed his newly learned disco pose for us, complete with over-extended belly. I praised his obvious talents.

“I don’t have the energy to watch this any longer,” my Mother commented picking up her sweater to leave. “But you are all very talented and well-rounded.”

“They get if from the women in the family,” my husband pointed out. “Isn’t your Mommy very well-rounded?” he asked our little daughter with a wink.

She squinted, evaluating me. “Well, maybe a little well-rounded,” she said apologetically.

Everybody burst out laughing, though I had difficulty finding the humor in the situation.

All that put aside, I am pleased to announce that my husband has taken unbelievably well to Ballroom Dancing. He’s already enrolled us in the upcoming Cha-Cha lessons.

If you haven’t looked into some of the classes the Parks and Rec are currently offering, I would highly recommend that you do. There are dance classes for couples and singles that begin every 6 weeks and

it’s a great way to enjoy a weeknight.

Hopefully, we will see you there!