I love to dance. I took dance lessons from age 5 until college, where I decided I couldn't live without it, so I took tap classes for a couple semesters.
My dad ... well, he didn't share my enthusiasm for dancing. He dreaded going to me and my sister's dance recitals every year (no worries, I totally understand. Sitting and watching something you don't enjoy for four hours every year for 14 years is PAINFUL, so way to go H-Dad for being there anyway!).
Because of this, I am pretty sure I have never once in my life danced with my dad. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure we have nothing musical in common. He listens to hard rock from the '70s, mainly, which is pretty much the only genre I'm not interested in.
The only song in his musical library I can remember liking when I was a kid is Led Zeppelin's "Lemon Song," but I just looked up the lyrics, and they are NOT appropriate, and will NOT be making an appearance at the wedding!
Get those boys some haircuts!
When I mentioned doing a father-daughter dance – because that's what you do, not because I really was looking forward to it – I don't think H-Dad was that into the idea. I know it's tradition, and Mr. Hyena wants to do a mother-son dance, but it feels like it's forcing an awkwardness that H-Dad and I just don't have. We're close, but a different kind of close. We enjoy going on walks together and talking hot-button issues. Can we go on a wedding walk instead?
So what to do, what to do? It was a long shot, but I went through the entire discographies of Led Zeppelin and The Who to see if there were any songs that could be even REMOTELY construed as a potential father-daughter song. If your dad is like mine, save yourself the trouble — there's not. So I turned to my darling fiancé.
"Mr. Hyenaaaaaaa ... I can't find a song to dance with my dad to!"
"So then don't do one if you don't want to."
"But you wanted to dance with your mom."
"Just because there's not an official dance doesn't mean I won't have the chance."
Have I ever mentioned I have the best fiancé ever?! As long as he's happy with this arrangement, I'm happy too. So I called H-Dad and offered this suggestion, and he was pleased. Now my dad doesn't have to dance, we don't have to find a song, and it'll be more of an "us" wedding. I don't really like the idea of doing something merely for tradition's sake when there's nothing personal about it, and now I don't have to.
Does your dad have different taste in music than you?
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