Cotillion

Eli and some of his classmates just finished up a month-long lesson in etiquette in the form of 'cotillion'. This is not something I grew up with, so it's been a learning process for me as well. A local cotillion teams up with our elementary school each winter to invite the 5th graders to join for a month and learn basic manners, basic ballroom dances, confidence, etc. While Eli was not too thrilled when I first told him last fall, he seemed kind of excited on the first day, and by the end he was definitely enjoying himself.

The girls had to wear dresses and nice shoes, and they had to purchase white gloves. The boys had to wear shirt and tie and sports coat. While Grandma Cathie was here this fall, she took Eli on a special date to find a suit, and the week before it started, Lehr helped Eli pick out a few bow ties (Eli's choice).

Because of the way the sessions fell with Ruby's hospital stays, I got to drive Eli every week also, meaning we got to bring Drew with us most of the time too. It was so crazy to see these two best friends so grown up looking. Of course, their backseat antics kept reminding me that they are anything but grown up.

I was so grateful the director allowed me to take pictures on the second week (for our 5th grade slide show); normally parents don't get to stay and watch, but I had a front row seat for one session.

Eli really did seem to enjoy himself, but he did tell me that it was a whole lot easier dancing with someone from a different school, "because you don't know them so it's not weird." He also commented that he always seemed to get paired with the tallest girls. The plight of a vertically challenged boy.