Dancing Queen

Last night I watched "Momma Mia". I have to admit that in the first few minutes, I thought to myself, "What the heck have I gotten myself into?" I'm not the kind of girl who does the whole scream, jump, and giggle thing. I don't gush, I don't flit, and I generally don't do "silly." So when the characters did all of the above in the first 5 minutes, I about puked and poked my eyes out with my remote. But then I was slowly sucked in.

Don't get me wrong. I'm definitely a dork. I most certainly do goofy, sarcastic, fiery, and impulsive. And I've been known to break out into song and dance on occasion, or make my family do a round of "Carol of the Bells" in the car on the way home from church. I guess I'm all about people whom you'd call.... "characters." I just prefer characters that seem to have some brain cells, or at least a refreshing dose of absurdity.

When I started to finally see the theme, or at least one of the messages, in the movie, I started to (grudgingly) fall in love. After all, it's one of my major life decisions- I don't do "subtle." I prefer to live, as I would say in high school, "balls out." And yes, this is crude and tacky, and I said it without ever thinking about what I was really saying, but I MEANT IT. I believe in making leaps of faith ( and have suffered much because of this), saying what you mean, loving as if there is no tomorrow, and making no secret of your true feelings for others. In fact, a great lifetime friend of mine, named Nash (whom I've lost track of) once told me, among many other profound things, that sometimes I just made him uncomfortable because I "cared too much." and that most people just don't care that much, or if they did, they didn't show it. And for him, as a boy who grew up moving from place to place, it was just too much. He didn't know what to do when I made him a birthday cake every year, ended up going to the same college as him, and could recall the name of his dog or his little sister's first boyfriend. He was used to lonely anonymity. Confronted with my friendship, he felt mothered, loved, but downright ODD in his inability to return the favor. I will always love Nash as a friend for his honesty and his ability to be "balls out" with me when it came to our great conversations. He knew me more than most people ever have. He went down many teenage dusty roads with me and will always remain there in my memories - driving along, arguing, laughing, and singing along to "Rusted Root" with my feet out his passenger side window...

The message in this movie that I came to love was simple. In all of us women, there is still a dancing queen. It doesn't matter how old, how beaten, how tired, or how weary. In all of us, there lives a sparkle, an explosion, and a sunrise. We are still hopeful, glorious, and capable. There isn't an end to the dreamers, the doers, or the laughers that we all are, or were, or have hidden deep inside our heartaches, our busyness, or our "graceful aging." Every now and then, or maybe every day, we need to toss aside those laundry baskets, pick up our skirts, and give a little twirl, put a hop in our step, and shake our behinds.

After all, is there anything in the world like seeing your mom get her tush smacked by your dad when they don't think you're watching? And is there anything better than seeing her smack him back with a dish towel and laugh like a girl?

Is there anything that will put a smile on your face more than seeing your grandma be sassy, your aunt dance, or your sisters tease each other?

So let us make a pledge:

No matter how old I get,

No matter how busy,

No matter how shy,

or tired,

sad,

or "mature,"

I promise to NEVER, Ever,

Be Subtle.

Dance on, dancing queens.

Love, Momma Chae