They dance in kindergarten.
Our son told me that only he and Alex don’t really like to dance.
I had music on in the background when he told me this, so I walked over and turned it up. Way up. (I’m sure the people I share walls with understood. I mean, teaching moment!)
I said “let’s dance” and started throwing my legs and arms around the room. (I never said I was good at it.)
Trenton moved his shoulders up and down one at a time in a little breakdance-style move that he said he learned from a classmate. I whooped my encouragement, and he plopped back down on the couch, trying to suppress a smile of both pride and embarrassment.
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My husband and I are not naturally very silly people. We joke around and make fun of ourselves, but we’re more the life-planning, dream-chasing, conscious-parenting types. (As if you couldn’t tell that from this blog. 🙂
Silliness comes naturally to our second son. He was practically born doing a funny little jig on his tiptoes. But Trenton, even as a five-year-old, is very conscious of the people around him. (I suppose he gets that from us.)
A few months ago I started feeling like Ryan and I needed to come out of adult mode more often and show Trenton that being goofy—even in public!—can bring a lot of joy into life. (And who cares if we can’t dance!!)
So lately we’ve embraced silliness more than I can ever remember. Just little moments, like these three:
1. Ryan and I acted half our age at a recent Ellie Goulding concert in San Francisco. We showed the boys pictures and videos the next day and watched their starry eyes soak it in.
2. We whooped and hollered out of our minivan windows at cyclists when we happened to drive along a country road where their race was taking place. The boys looked at us like we were crazy for most of it, but I’m sure the bikers appreciated our cheering. (Ha!)
3. We stopped our car on the side of a relatively busy street just to snap some pictures in front of this graffiti wall we’ve always admired. We did some awesomely awkward kissing pictures and some random crazy poses and ended up with this keeper of a shot, above. The boys were laughing hard in the car.
In the Power of Vulnerability, I remember Brene Brown saying that she can measure the emotional wellbeing of their family by how much dancing there is in the kitchen. After practicing silliness more often for the last few months, I can tell you she’s on to something.
So, I’d love to hear—How naturally does silliness come to you and your family?
Linked up with Works for Me Wednesday and On My Heart.
Love this post. Silliness just rocks. I think it comes a bit naturally with me and Justin … and it rubs off on Mads. Although at times she needs some encouragement, and looks to us to make sure it’s okay to dance in the aisle of a store, she joins in 🙂 I think everyone could use a bit more silly in their life. Thanks for sharing!
ann
Hi Ann! Thanks so much for commenting and introducing me to your blog. It is awesome that you and your husband both take to silly naturally. 🙂 Wish we were the same but maybe with some practice?? 🙂 Fingers crossed!
Once again, this is something that has been on my mind. I’m a very quiet person and even as a kid I was always very serious. Jon is much better at letting loose and being silly with the kids. I definitely want to change. I’ve been thinking about my mom growing up and how I remember her. And that leads to thinking about how my kids are going to remember me. And I want them to remember me being fun.
I love that picture of you and Ryan and I love that description of T. I could totally see that all playing out. 🙂
Yeah, I am with you! I’m more serious-minded, which doesn’t exactly lend itself to being a wild fun mom, although it does come with some good traits as well. I know my nature won’t change overnight, but I’m hoping that if I throw in enough silly moments, some of those memories will stand out in their heads. 🙂 Plus, I think it’s really important for a kid like Trenton who may need the reminder regularly as he grows that it’s okay to let loose sometimes.
It depends on who I’m around if I’m silly or not. But naturally, as a parent, I tend to be more on the serious side. My husband on the other hand, is so silly, so he’s training me. 😉 And when you have a three year old who runs around the house saying, “oh my pasta bowl” and other random silly phrases it’s hard not to join him in the sillyness. So I guess even if I tried my hardest to stay set in my seriousness ways I’m out of luck. haha
You guys are adorable! I love being quirky in life, and I’m definitely silly in public. Good for you for teaching that life’s more fun when you stop worrying what other people think. And Ellie Goulding is awesome! 🙂