Be there or be square

On Saturday night, we did something that I have not done since junior high and Eric has not done since elementary school: we went square dancing.

While it was in many ways quite similar to the square dancing we did as children (most of the people there had no idea what they were doing, no alcohol was served, some of the people there definitely had cooties), I'm happy to report that it was different in the most important way: it was really, really fun.

It started at 8pm and we arrived pretty much on time, which is to say we got there way too early. For the first half an hour it was just us, some older folks eating sandwiches, and a handful of people sitting around looking uncomfortable. One guy wheeled a jogging stroller around the dance floor. Time seemed to slow.

But it finally did get going around 8:30pm. The music was energizing and the caller did a great job getting everyone up and dancing. It was a good crowd and a very family friendly event: there were children and even tweens participating, along with a number of older folks, too. This being San Francisco there was also a healthy share of hipsters and of course plenty of people "like us." (You know what that means, right?) Looking around the room it was clear that everyone was having a fabulous time. Huge grins all around, lots of rosy cheeks and laughing. I sort of felt like we had gone back in time and were in a barn somewhere celebrating the beginning of planting season.

Being 35 weeks pregnant didn't stop me from bouncing around the floor, dosido-ing, swinging my partner, etc until about two hours in when my right knee began to protest. It probably didn't help that I had gone on a five mile hike earlier in the day. Reluctantly, we sat out a few dances and then called it a night.