Brings me back...

I listen to an oldies station when I'm in the car. When I manage to get by without the kidlings asking for a Raffi tape. What did I happen to hear on the drive to preschool?

"Shake Your Groove Thing"

It's funny how certain songs will transport you back in time. That song is one of them. Peppy. Funky. Good beat. One song you can definitely dance to.

I recall when I remember hearing this song. Many, many moons ago. A different time. A different place. A different life style. A totally different era.

I was in the 6th grade. Where I grew up, the 6th graders throughout the city would each have a turn and go camping. We were taken up to a mountain observatory site from Monday morning to late Friday afternoon. We stayed in log cabins. Not little ones either. Each cabin could hold 40 occupants. In my case? Forty 12-year-olds. We had 4 sleeping rooms with bunkbeds. And one great room in the middle. Our cabin was called the "Birdhouse" and one sleeping room was the "Bluejays".

It was five days of many new experiences for me.

It was the first time I'd slept somewhere away from my parents. It was the first time I'd been camping. It was the first time I'd been hiking. This was when I had my first taste of macaroni and cheese! It was also the first time I learned how to dance. Disco!

Every moment we had free time in our cabin, we'd crank up the disco music. I actually learned one of those dances. You know, the kind of dances that every knows the moves to. How everyone at a wedding does "the Chicken Dance"? Well, picture about 40 almost teenage girls doing the same dance.

I think it was the last bit of carefree time in my life. (Junior high was about 6 months away with all that new drama) I laughed and I danced. It was such a joyous time.