Dances with Aki: Vacation diaries Day 12

September 2: There is a very nice gentleman on board this Danube cruise who loves to dance. The musicians who play each night in the Panorama Lounge aren't very good, but that doesn't stop Aki. 

I told him my mom used to like to waltz with my dad and then the next time a tune came up with a waltzable beat he asked her. 

As they glided around the dance floor one of the women watching exclaimed to the friend next to her "look at the smile on her face!". 

Then she looked at me and saw I was filming it all. "Look at the smile on your face too," she said to me. 

Which was when I realized I was grinning. It was lovely to see my mom up on the dance floor, though of course it also made me think of my dad. I've never seen my mom dance with any one else.

Later Aki asked me to dance to a salsa tune and then a pop tune came up after that and a whole bunch of people got up to dance freestyle. My mom watched from her seat and when I sat down she said "I've never seen you dance before." She said I'd looked good, and that my dad would have been proud - which brought tears to my eyes.

It was odd to think my mom had never seen me dance. It's something I enjoy a lot, and yet not something she knew about me.  She's never been to a club with me, or gone to any of my friend's weddings.  

Spending these two weeks together means I am revealing parts of myself that I'd kept hidden without thinking.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. It seems both nice (she's finally getting to know me) and scary (what else will I accidentally reveal about myself?).