Oh, joy.

There was a Dancing in the Streets event in downtown Santa Cruz tonight. And, as always, it's a struggle to gather enough snacks, jackets and children to go anywhere. Ever. Sometimes I give up before I even start and end up missing all the things. But tonight, all the stars aligned.

And thank goodness they did.

There were kids doing ballet, adults tap dancing and even a magical Balinese woman who stared directly into my soul as she danced. Dancing has always brought joy to my life but tonight was a moment that's been building for years. Years of babies, lockdowns and emotions. The cumulative joy of the dancers, the bystanders and my little dancing girls practically lifted me off my feet.

I am so grateful for music and community. And Josephine's little booty shake.

Theater of the mind

Driving home yesterday, I was slightly annoyed by the commercial on the radio.  I wasn't actually listening to the content, but the man's voice was driving me crazy. Zoë and Josephine were uncharacteristically quiet in the back seat and suddenly Zoë piped up, "Mom!"

"Yes, Zoë."

"Did you just hear in that story? They said Josephine!!"

The voice had actually said "Joseph", but that's beside the point. I couldn't help but smile about her choice of words and the thought of an annoying ad being a story in her mind.

It also reminded me of an old advertising axiom my dad loved to remind everyone one of: radio is the theater of the mind. 

I suppose some advertisers still live by that.