She Grooves

We were sitting around the fire by the water on the night of my sister's Open House for her new home, when my cousins came back from listening to the live music at the marina, talking and laughing about how much fun they had watching Cora dance.

Nick had taken Cora over in her stroller to hear the band play for a little while before tucking her into the tent for bed.  And she sat in her stroller, showing off her dance moves without even getting up on her feet.  They couldn't stop talking about how she had different moves for every song, complete with a dance face that shifted each time a new song would play.

Apparently, several of the other dancers couldn't keep away, and kept approaching her, wanting to share in her groove.  But, past her bedtime as it was, and in a roomful of strangers, she would decline and sink into the shadows of her stroller until she was left to boogie to her own rhythm once again. But the people just couldn't stay away.  And throughout the evening and into the next day, I kept hearing about how much fun it was to watch her.

It's that way whenever there is music.  When we're walking down the street and a car drives by with the window down and the music up loud, Cora stops what she's doing to bust a move on the sidewalk with a grin on her face.

When we take her to see a music show (a pretty frequent occurrence, since we live in a town full of great children's musicians), Cora always stands out from the crowd, drumming away to the beat, dancing to the tunes, clapping at the end of each song, the music holding her attention throughout the show while the other kids run around distracted and playing.

I've heard from more than one musician that even if the room is fairly empty, having Cora in the audience livens the show right up.

There's just something about it... her pure joy and completely unselfconscious abandon is so captivating.  If you're lucky she'll grab your hand and draw you into her dance, grinning and giggling, taking turns copying your movements or getting you to follow along with her.  Unfortunately, she has learned a lot of moves from me and Nick, but she knows how to work it in a way that's all her own.