Nothing it to it...you just wiggle round

That's what my dad said when he was dancing at my little sisters prom. At the high school junior/senior prom they allow the parents to show up for the crowning of the prom king and queen. So a bunch of unwanted dorky parents show up to snap photos of their beloved children in all of their finery. I, being the big sister, was allowed to come along to ooooh and awww over the beautiful young princes and princesses, tuxedos, suits, ties, formal gowns, cocktail dresses, fashion at its finest in our one horse town. Then there was dad. Dad, dad, dad. He always had his own way of dressing as it was. "Western wear" is what he called it. And I suppose that's exactly what it was since we live in the westernmost state of the 50 (or is Hawaii farthest west?? not sure). Anyway, we are on the western side so we don western wear, correct? Dad would show up in his regular baseball cap or some years, his stetson. His blue jeans were a regular as was the button up denim shirt with the white tee underneath. In his later years he stretched his style to include favorite NFL team sweatshirts and tennis shoes. You get the general idea.

Well this was my littlest sister, the baby of the family, her prom night.I believe she was on the court and the vote was in, we were waiting to see if she was the first Shinn girl to be crowned Queen OF ANYTHING. The suspense, aiyiyi. Strangely enough, I don't remember if she won or not. What I do remember is the whole family being there to support her. Her steady boyfriend at the time was her "Prince" And I know WE thought that they were a shoe in to win. I mean, just look at them! Perfectly adorable. That fresh sweet innocence of youth, smells like teen spirit they say. They were the epitimy of teendom and I loved to see it. So did my dad.

They let the parents boogie down for a few short songs after the crowning and then kicked us all the hell out of there so they could get on with the not so innocent stuff of the evening (my parents were in complete denial about the not so innocent stuff, what! their daughter? nevvvveeerrrrr!!!) So we got to watch the middle aged moms and dads swing it and shake it like a salt shaker for the kids to songs that the DJ must have thought were perfect for the old farts. I think it was Twist and Shout by the Beatles and some Led Zeppelin or something like that. My mom, ever the spotlight lover, ran out on the dance floor and starts doing her version of the twist, invisible bath towel in tow. She had her dance steps down, no hesitation or fear. She was always comfortable in the spotlight. She was at her best in front of a microphone, no fears, no worries. My dad, on the other hand, was never comfortable in crowds or especially in front of them. But he was always up for a good time, especially when it came to us kids or the grandbabies. So he got out on the dance floor with my mom and did some sort of rendition of the "Jerk". My parents always managed to acquire an audience whenever they made a public appearance.Us kids, overshadowed by moms and pops popularity, stood reassuringly by and watched the magic that was happening on the dance floor. Decades of living, loving and dancing together unfolded before our eyes. We hadn't really seen our parents dance, ever. But there they were, boogieing with the best of them. And my dad's classis line, " Nothing to it. you just wiggle around a little bit, right?" Had us in stitches. I don't even think he was trying to be funny. He just was. Always.