Baby, Remeber Drew's Name (Remember! Remember! Remember!)

Drew's big into dancing. His favorite (read: only) style is frenetic running in place while moving his arms up and down and shaking his head back and forth. Sometimes he mixes it up by running in a circle while doing the above or mimicking whatever I'm doing. This makes for a lot of fun times whenever something musical comes on in the house.

Another thing Drew likes to do is run around the house in one final pre-nocturnal hurrah after he's released from the shower or bath. The first step in this process is to run to the parent who was absent during the washing and give said person a big hug (this also helps him finish drying off as he isn't really into that whole "toweling down" thing). Then he'll hurry into his room to jump on his bed before we come at him with a diaper and PJs. (His word for jump, incidentally, is "boing.") Lately, though, he's been dancing around to whatever music is coming from the TV before we get him all trussed up for the night.

Last night, this new tradition and love of dance took a fascinating twist when I had the XM Radio 80s channel on and "Fame" started up after Drew gave me his very wet hug. Drew and I had great fun dancing to that song. He particularly enjoyed it when I did a mock balletic jump. Then he tried to do the same thing, and laughed when it always turned into a near-belly-flop on the carpet.

It feels great to be silly like this with Drew, to move just for the sake of moving, to sing and dance and not care what anyone who observed us might think about the spectacle. I wish I could bottle up this enthusiasm to experience the world without the restriction of clothing. Not because I think we should all be nudists, but because the focus is not on how the body appears but on how it functions and interacts with the world. Society tells us not just that our bodies are private but also that they are shameful or abnormal. I'd like for a moment to feel the same freedom Drew feels when he escapes the towel and throws himself into whatever activity catches his attention. I'd like to be able to dance naked in the privacy of my home without feeling exposed or horribly aware of the flabby bits and the awkward sags and the scarred skin.