Friday was a big night in our household. It was time for the Houlton Elementary School father-daughter dance, which meant an opportunity for my youngest to dress up like a princess and spend the evening dancing the night away.
Dads actually get the benefit of much cooler events with their children than their spouses.
When was the last time you heard of a mother-son ball? Boys just aren’t into that, so moms often miss out.
At least they get to dress their daughters up before sending them off with their fathers, grandfathers or other significant male figure in their lives.
It was a bittersweet night for me, because it was the first year that my oldest daughter was officially “too old” to attend the dance with her daddy as the dance was only open to HES students.
Getting ready for dances like this are a big deal when you are 6-years-old, and my wife spent a good deal of time doing hair and “makeup” for the night. When they emerged from the bathroom, my daughter was sporting crimped hair and a pair of star tattoos on her cheek reminiscent of the 1980s cartoon, “Jem and Holograms.”
I knew then that it was going to be a good night.
We started off the evening by dining out wherever my daughter wanted to eat. Her first response was the usual “McDonald’s or Burger King” choice. I explained she could choose anywhere she wanted to eat because it was her special night to eat out without her sister or mother in tow.
She then decided we would dine at the Irving Big Stop, more affectionately known by many of us as “Travelers.” It was an uncommon choice for her, so we gave it a whirl. Apparently, my daughter enjoys sitting on the bar stools at the Big Stop, so that is where we enjoyed a fine meal of a bacon cheeseburger and fries for myself, and a breakfast meal of eggs and sausage for her.
Sitting at the counter also gave us a wonderful view of the desert trays spinning behind glass in the corner of the restaurant. I figured, “why not” and we ordered a slice of strawberry white chocolate pie with whipped cream and a slice of chocolate cream pie.
With full bellies, we made our way over to the Gentle Memorial Building, and waited patiently to get inside, as the line was quite long. Once inside, we saw the recreation center was transformed into a Valentine’s Day paradise.
Houlton native Jake Ball served as the DJ for the evening and kept things hopping with a nice mix of party songs and ballads. Picture a gymnasium full of girls ages 5-9 belting out songs at the top of their voices and you get a pretty good idea of how the night went.
Since I was doing double-duty taking photos for the newspaper, I had to spend a few minutes trying to get as many shots as I could. Surprisingly, my daughter wanted nothing to do with running around the gymnasium and playing with her friends. So when I saw her sitting, waiting patiently for me to be done, I knew it was time to put the camera away and start boogieing.
On the way home from the big dance, I asked my daughter what her favorite part of the night was. I was expecting her to say something like the treats, or the lights and bouncy dance songs. I wasn’t fully prepared for her response.
“I liked the smooth songs best,” she said.
By smooth songs, she meant the slow dances, which typically featured me holding her, with her head resting on my shoulder. It was a perfect response to a perfect evening, which I will cherish forever.
