Our church holds dances for the youth once a month.  It's generally a laid back affair where the only dress code is simply be modest (what you could wear to school in our conservative county).  Mostly the kids dress up a tad, some in dresses/nice slacks and others in jeans.  The one exception is the New Year's Eve dance which is held from 9:30 until 12:30 and the dress is....well, dressier.  Some of the older kids wear their prom outfits while others wear church-type dresses.  The boys wear a shirt and tie. 

This was Rebecca's first opportunity to attend one of these dances and she was...let's just say....apprehensive.  She has a tendency to be shy and somewhat introverted, but often regrets not joining into these kinds of activities afterward.  I pushed her to attend and she finally agreed when I told her I would wait in the parking lot (which I normally do anyway) with the mini-DVD player and a few MASH episodes so if she were bored or uncomfortable she could escape to the van. 

She went along reluctantly, refusing to pose for a blog shot.   

This was the best I could do and since the others were in a rush because we were running a tad bit late, this was the only shot I got. 

Rebecca went in gamely enough but was back outside in about 20 minutes.  She claimed she couldn't find anyone she knew that she wanted to hang out with.  Most of her friends at church are a bit younger than she is and can't attend the dances yet, so this didn't surprise me. 

We watched an episode of MASH and then I suggested she go try again.  This time she was gone about 10 minutes and we watched another episode.  After that Rebecca got out of the van with no encouragement and went into the dance for the duration.  They had a balloon drop at midnight and a couple of final dances and the kids came trickling out slowly, Josh being last as he was the only one who had an actual "date". 

Elizabeth is an old hand at these dances now and has a bevy of buddies to meet up with.  Josh's attendance has been more spotty, but when he does go he generally enjoys himself.  In the end, Rebecca decided it was worth going, but she wasn't exactly boiling over with enthusiasm.  It will be interesting to see if she requires any encouragement this month.