Michael Jackson Dance Party

Couple weeks ago Thalia invited all her church friends to an MJ Dance party at our house that Saturday at 2pm. By the time we found out, every 5 & 6 year old in our congregation was already asking their parents for a ride & a white glove.

She had cried herself to sleep a few nights missing her friends from LA. I'd catch her huddled up by the nightlight looking at the photo-farewell book from her friends at school. I felt like I was staring into some kind of Harry Potter mirror, showing me what I would look like if I was manifesting all the inside emotion of a 6 year old.

Call it "maturity" or a hard-heart, gritting it out or growing up, I've felt the heart-string tug-o-war. The move has been miraculous, and we wouldn't have it any other way. But, that doesn't erase the loss & grief I feel from missing my friends & family.

After reading Jesus, I learned it's OK to grieve. After reading Job, I learned it's necessary to grieve. After reading Lamentations, I learned how to grieve creatively. So here I was, about to host my first, 1st grade Michael Jackson Dance Party, and I realized I may be the one who needs it the most.

Streamers streamed from every inch of white space on our popcorn-painted ceiling. Warm, baking cupcake goodness wafted out into the halls of the fortieth floor. New York pizza slices sacred & succulent, ice-cold punch and mac-n-cheese balls garnished the fiesta. And yes, I did sport the sparkling white glove.


We played MJ trivia, we did a freeze dance game to Beat It and we even pulled the parents in on a few Jackson 5 classics. 10 kids and 7 adults marked success all around. All left satisfied, but none more than Thalia & me as we snuggled on the couch later and shared what our favorites parts of the party were. We talked about our new friends in this new city. We talked about how it's OK to remember the old memories but how we also need to make new ones. Our eyes smiled close...and then Jaden jumped on us & instigated the next installment of Markowski Wrestlemania.