Wednesday, May 26, 2010

17 Minutes of Ant Joy

As the temperature rose to a staggering 98 degrees here in Marlbrough, MA today, my son and I ventured outside the realm of the deliciously cool AC to get a little fresh air while Jen managed the clean-up of the kitchen.

As Tyler and I stood on the front concrete stoop of our apartment complex, ants raced back and forth in front of our bare feet. Each time an ant made the dangerous journey, Tyler squeeled with delight and pointed at said ant. Then, he conducted a sort of ant-dance whereby he continued pointing at the ant, squeeling, and added a foot-fire quick-step. Once the ant had managed its way into the safety of the grass (escaping Tyler's excited dance), my son would calm down and wait for the next sojourner.

After 17 minutes of delirious dancing and ant-sight-seeing, we finally could bear the heat no longer and returned to the cool comforts of our apartment.

However, Tyler's dance remains fresh in my mind. So, now that he is down to bed for the night, I'll share with you the question I pose to myself: when was the last time we danced over something so small, mundane, and utterly normal as an ant? Or, perhaps the better question is simply: when was the last time we danced?