A Glimpse of Things to Come

I'm not sure if maybe it's because my week off is coming to a close, or because we had a late night last night, but today felt long and trying. To be honest, the idea of going with the whole family to the quinceanera (Sweet 15 Party) of the daughter of a colleague of my wife's was not at the top of the list. I didn't complain about it, however. I went at Jeanette's pace, and we got there an hour late, which is not bad for us.

I relaxed into the place -- Fiesta Gardens, in East Austin, overlooking Lady Bird Lake -- enjoying the mariachi band, and the barbecue sausage. I had a dance with my wife, which is always enjoyable for me, and by that time, the beauty of the night was in full force. We were out on the patio, and the full moon was shining down on us through ratty palm trees, blowing in a gentle breeze. Jeanette and I agreed that it felt strangely like Santo Domingo.



But my favorite moment of the evening came when I looked up and saw that my wife was now dancing with another man -- my five-year-old son, Jackson. I had the presence of mind to run over there and get this shot, and even though it's blurry, I love it.

We've taken Diego and Jackson to many parties like this one, with loud music blasting, and people dancing and having a good time. They usually just run around in circles on the dance floor (I'm sure many of you have these kids at your parties) until they're exhausted. Don't get me wrong; there was a lot of that tonight, too. This was the first time, though, that one of our boys really took the time to make a serious stab at dancing with Mami.

I'm not sure whether Diego will ever be able to shake his shyness enough to dance publicly with his mom (though he was doing a mean solo robot tonight, when he thought no one was looking), maybe he will. Jackson, on the other hand, is raring to be out there in the mix, and I have a strong suspicion we'll be seeing him cutting the rug and shaking a tail feather at many parties in the years to come.