Any of you who have ever watched Tyler play drums will know what I am talking about. When he plays, he's completely in his element; 100% comfortable in his own skin. There's not an ounce of insecurity, not a trace of self-consciousness . . . there's pure joy and abandonment to the moment. It's thrilling to watch, especially as his mother!
Yesterday, Kelly, Kate and I were able to witness another young man who found the right "skin" to be in.
I met Matthew when he was 6 or 7 years old. He was part of my group for the first VBS at our church. What a blast we had! That week, I seemed to form a life-long bond with the kids in my group. I know that I still talk to and care about each one of them. As the years progressed, Matthew picked up a nickname for himself called El Chico. He was doing well at a youth group game one night and he kept saying, El Chico always wins. Then he applied it to every situation. El Chico always has dessert. El Chico always needs a Slurpee. El Chico always holds the door.
When Matthew told us he was competing in ballroom dancing, we knew we had to go and support him! I mean, we've watched this kid in plays, musicals, and now this. He was so great about making sure we not only had directions, but he told us what to wear so we wouldn't feel out of place. We were prepared!
His first dances are what are called the "smooth dances." He did the waltzes, tango, etc. We clapped and cheered because it was so fun to watch him.
Then came the Latin dances.
Wow. . . Let me just say the kid is good and placed first in all but two of his dances (he did over 20), but that's not what had us on our feet and cheering madly.
Matthew may have been having fun before, but now he was ecstatic. We were laughing and crying and clapping because of the look on his face. His entire countenance was one of pure joy! The dance floor may have been crowded, but we sure didn't see anyone else when Matthew did the Latin dances! Everyone around us, even ones who didn't know him, was shouting, "Number 8! Number 8!!!" I could hardly believe this was the same little boy from my VBS group!
We were kind of upset because we noticed the judges weren't really watching him. What we came to realize (and what he later confirmed) is that the judges glanced at him, placed him in first, then immediately watched the others to see if they would equal or surpass him. If there was someone close, they would then watch him again, then the competition, then make their marks. It was thrilling!
A junior in high school, Matthew hopes to pursue dancing as far as it will go, hopefully winning scholarships through it.
I'm a believer, El Chico. I know you can do it! We will be watching from near and far, and we will be clapping and cheering like mad. Wow!
4 comments:
We are El Chico fans too - even though we haven't seen him dance yet. What a joy it is to see a young person find the right skin to be in. Watching Tyler drum has the same effect on me. I find myself grinning just because.
Wow, what great friends you are, I wish I had been there, I wanna Dance too. Congrats to El Chico!!
JoAnna, I also love what you said about Tyler's drumming. It is such a blessing to have a mom and I assume dad too, understand that place he is in, when he is on it. I am so glad he has his music. YOU GO TY !!!
From Calif. Gramma GMC
El Chico always scares Jessie; it's a proven fact. Though, I do wish very much to see him in his element!
He doesn't want to teach a very ignorant girl how to ballroom dance, does he? I feel I should be a much more educated person if only I knew how to dance! ;]
Ok guys, GMC is my mother-in-love, so make sure you say nice things about me! Mind your P's and Q's!
GMC - Ty will record two more songs this month. We're so excited!
Jess - as a matter of fact, Kate and Kelly are going to take lessons with El Chico! We're going to pay him $5 per lesson (whether he likes it or not). We're thinking on Tuesdays we could slip over to Park Ave after prayer? Use the pavillion? We had thought of the fellowship hall at church, but then we remembered the policy at Circle of having to pay if you're using a room for a business (money exchanged) deal. What do you think? Want to join us?
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