On the Verge of Rage

I did not want to go. Not one bit. I thought about feigning illness. Or flattening the tires on both cars. After a while, I was so anxious, a heart attack did not seem improbable. But, time marched on and my excuses did not evolve into reality so I went.

My daughter's best friend had her Bat Mitzvah party this evening. I was so reluctant to go as I was convinced I would be pinned to the walls with boredom. But I went, and I surprised myself. I had a grand time.

The room was full of teenage tensions and, I am sure, newly discovered hormones were at full bloom. At first, the room was not at equilibrium. There was energy but no action. The music selection was decent enough to dance, but no one would take to the floor. They stood in a circle and bounced slightly....but not so much as to be noticed. But, yet, they wanted to be noticed. You could see the laser like glances, the connection across the floor. Jillian to Zack, Nina to Sam, glances that spoke volumes without words. But, no one would break out and dance...I mean like really dancing in an embarrassingly good way. I have been there and done that and, nearly forty years too late, I wished I could have been the ONE that started the rage. They seemed content to be on the verge of fun but to not jump in with both feet. I then did the one thing that every kid in every corner of the world responds to. I pulled out the camera and stood in the middle of the floor. And, they started to dance and dance and dance some more. And to perform, in fact. Like a bad reality TV program. But, it was actually quite good and I was totally tuned in and it warmed my heart.

I love these kids. All of them. They are the promise of this earth. Our future rests in their hands. They are bright and funny and optimistic and dreamy and inventive and vibrant and hopeful. Within them rests much of what has been extracted from us due to the nature of time. And this goodness of youth was all vividly there. All contained on one small dance floor. And there I sat, in the middle, soaking it all in.

See it in big and you can smell the tension. And a few of the facial expressions are priceless.

Have a wonderful Sunday and thank you for the daily bliss you provide to my soul.