My Instead: My girlfriend Annette and I danced outside at the Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival.
My girlfriend Annette and I had it
planned that we would go to the Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival on Sunday.
Kimmswick is a quaint little town in Missouri that hosts a huge festival in
October’s last full weekend. My sister Karen was working her Cold Stone
Creamery tent so we got to visit with her while we were there. There were over
500 vendors at the event which made it difficult to spend ample time at each
one to scrutinize all their wares, but we did the best we could.
While traipsing around the festival,
we noticed a two-man band playing some pretty good tunes for whomever wanted to
listen. No one was dancing. I suggested to Annette that we dance…SO WHAT if no
one else did! She was not comfortable with the idea. I was disappointed because
I thought this would be a perfect thing to do for my daily “instead”. We went
back and forth trading reasons to do it or not to do it, but her apprehension
was more convincing than my spiel. In fact, it was so powerful, I was beginning
to doubt myself!
We went to get something to eat, but
we didn’t know what we wanted. I suggested that we separate and each get something
without the other’s input…adding that I needed some alone time because I felt a
bit distant from her. She didn’t want us to go our separate ways in our quest for
food so we stayed together and ended up with a huge gyro sandwich to share. She
suggested that we go back to where the band was playing and eat. Then she
surprised me with her newfound courageous decision to dance, explaining that
she had thought about it and “just had to get used to the idea”.
After we finished eating, we sat a
while waiting to make the move to dance in front of God and everybody. The only
person on the “dance floor” (a graveled parking lot) was a little 2-year-old
named Molly. We kept watching little Molly steal the show as we built up our
nerve to join her. Finally, we did the Nike thing (just do it) and got up and
started dancing. I relished where we were…outside in the sunshine on a
beautiful autumn afternoon. Nothing else mattered. Some people walked by
smiling and others not really caring one way or another. No one sneered.
We finished dancing after two songs
and walked away feeling like the cat that ate the canary. We were satisfied
and proud of our fearless act. And to top it all off, we were happy because it
made us grow even closer. The festival was nearing its end, so we went over to
my sister’s tent and helped her pack up her Cold Stone stuff and get it into
the trailer. Karen loved us for helping!
But let’s go back and think a minute. Isn’t it interesting
how a kid can be free and do something harmless without apprehension? But we, as adults, have to ponder and wonder…what
will everyone think? It’s time I just go with it and let the chips fall where
they may. How about you?
No comments:
Post a Comment