Jaxon was invited to a dance recital/Halloween party this past Wednesday night.  One of Jaxon’s female classmates at school is in dancing, and she could invite one friend to take with her to her dance recital/Halloween party… and she asked Jaxon.  We were very proud parents that she would invite him, of all the kids she could have invited.  And Jaxon, being a gentleman (and always up for a party), accepted.  So he got all dressed up in his costume - a Sheriff.  He was decked out in his snakeskin cowboy boots that he got for doing well in school, a western duster, cowboy jeans, a cowboy hat, a belt and 2 holsters full of pistols, a bandanna, a Sheriff’s badge, and to top it off, I drew him in a beard and mustache.  He was looking sharp!

But when we got to the event, I quickly realized this would be an interesting evening.  The dance teacher called all the kids into the dance studio where she was teaching them a dance that they would later perform for the parents.  Jaxon had no idea HE would be dancing.  So he walks in, looking like Lone Wolf McQuade outfit, into a dance studio filled with little girls dressed up like fairies, ladybugs, butterflies, and princesses.  It didn’t help that he’s very big for his age, so he’s at least a whole head taller than the next tallest girl there.  The teacher put him in his place and began to teach everybody the dance steps.  We, the parents, could not even come into the studio while they learned the routine, but we could watch through the glass door.  Jaxon immediately crossed his arm in front of him, and put a look on his face as if somebody has just shot his horse.  A very serious, no-nonsense, look.  For the next 5 or 10 minutes, he never moved an inch, except for his right index finger which just kept tapping on his left bicep, as if he was counting down the seconds until this was over.  I have to admit it was very funny, a real life statue of Pat Garrett with fairies dancing around him.  The frown never once left his face.  We finally decided that he’d had enough, and called him out of the studio and asked if he was ready to go.  He said “yes”, as his eyes began to water, I could tell he was about to cry.  In one sense, it broke my heart that he was so miserable, yet still tried to put on a tough face, but on the other hand, I was very proud of him that he never griped or complained as he tried to hide his embarassment of feeling so out of place.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen him embarrassed before.  He does not embarrass easily at all, which is a very good trait to have.  But this was clearly something that he did not want to be a part of, but did not know how to handle it.  So he just stood there, frozen, waiting for somebody to rescue him.