i didn't expect The Sea to attend a dance until she was in middle school, let alone a father/daughter dance while in kindergarten.
That is where we found ourselves Saturday, at an Elk's Lodge in Wakefield. Complete with big elk's antlers at the door: i pointed them out to The Sea and her friend to prove the lodge's authenticity.
She practiced the Electric Slide for two weeks- mostly, because she likes to say "Cha-cha y'all."
She and her friends gathered around the dance floor, told secrets and giggled, occasionally locking hands to dance a few steps.
Her mother cued me to get her a corsage, for which i am thankful; it was a collection of pink flowers to match her hot pink and white skirt. The flowers wilted and started falling off a half hour into the dance.
The fathers all collected at the tables and along the walls, drinking tiny paper cups of apple juice, watching their daughters, from kindergarten up to fifth grade, grow years before their eyes. Occasionally we made small talk, stepped out into the cool spring night to escape the stifling air inside.
The Sea wanted to leave a little early, so she could roll down a grassy hill outside the building. i suppose i should have been more conscientious of the fact she was wearing a white outfit, but she laughed so much as she rolled that i hated to stop her.
Night was encroaching on the last bits of daylight as we left, hand in hand.
While i miss my marriage everyday, moments like this underline what i have lost not being able to share with her mother.
