#5. Shall We Dance?

The Jacket Face-off

I love the smell of Napalm in the morning. It goes so well with the sound of my daughter screaming…

“Put on your jacket, Sweety.”

“EEEIIIGGGHHH!!!”

“Stand up on your feet.  Put on your jacket.”

“EEEIIIGGGHHH!!!”

Awesome.




My daughter is highly motivated by music and dancing.  When she’s having a difficult time executing a particular task, I’ll often make up a goofy song and dance and hope she takes the bait.  Most often, I find success when I include a forward-stepping motion, a “stomp-stomp” or a happy sound effect in the mix…

Stomp stomp stomp stomp
Puttin’ on my right sleeve
Jiggle jiggle,
Giggle giggle
Hee hee hee hee hee!
Stomp stomp stomp stomp
Puttin’ on my left sleeve
Jiggle jiggle
Giggle giggle
Hee hee hee hee hee!     

Yes indeed, one must always be prepared to create fine music and choreography for any given situation.  I must warn to beware of those particularly catchy diddies; the ones that stick so well they require a repeat performance… over and over… day after day… sometimes in front of a live audience.  We lose a great deal of our dignity when we become parents, don’t we?   But hey, if it keeps the apocalypse from happening now, then it’s well worth a dance.


About Janie Ruth

Aside from being a full-time mom (her most important job), Janie is the published author of poetry, short fiction and creative nonfiction. She’s also written several articles on raising children with autism, some of which have been featured in several local area publications. Currently, she serves as editor for a newsletter supporting military families during deployment and writes a weekly blog called Autism Momisms, featured here on this site as well as on several local news sites around Metro Atlanta.
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