Awkward…that is the only word for some moments in your life. I have two quick examples this morning that both occurred in this calendar week (which should tell me that awkward moments are not an anomaly in my life – hmmmm, something to reflect upon).

First, the very day that I blogged about the fact that I think I can dance I was left in the house alone for about 45 minutes (sans husband or child) and was dancing about the house prior to heading to a morning meeting. I have to limit my moves when they are there to keep the laughter and groans down to a minimum (those responses ruin my dancing groove).

So consumed was I in feeling the music and creating dancing magic that I lost track of where I was. I was really hitting some wild moves in my kitchen/dining area which has the huge front window (where of course the curtains are pulled to the side) and I glanced up only to see my next door neighbor in her yard staring at me curiously (she was probably unsure about whether to call an ambulance or grab a video camera).

Can you say, “AWKWARD”? My mind immediately went to survival behavior and I tried to think of some way to reframe my behavior, but I quickly realized that short of a seizure there was no other logical conclusion other than the movement she viewed was an attempt at dancing.

The following day I was listening to the radio in my car on the way to work and they played Pink’s So What song (hear the song and see the video here –  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuBjL_Lp_EU ). I was in a great mood (having already forgotten the previous morning’s dancing debacle) and was singing and moving about in the car like a thirteen year old with a brush in front of a mirror. As I was belting out the really rambunctious part of the song with all the requisite attitude and faces I noticed the man in the lane next to me looking at me with a half smile/half smirk on his face (mental note – stop rocking out at stop lights). AWKWARD.

There was no escape as we were waiting for the light to change, but when it did I lit out of there like a bat out of hell. Of note, once you are nailed singing in the car, you cannot stop immediately as that makes it seem like you were wrong to do it in the first place which I believe makes it more embarrassing. All you can do is tone it down – the hand movements and the head bobbing have to stop until traffic starts moving again.

So you know, on the occasions when I am the observer not the goofball that is feeling awkward for being caught in the middle of an unsolicited performance I am quite empathetic to the other person’s situation. Given the fact that there are likely a few dozen more awkward moments in my near future, reciprocity would be appreciated.

Day eighty-two of the new forty – obla di obla da

CC