I have a disco ball hat. Wearing it, I look like a disco ball glittering in a late seventies dark and smoky dance hall. My in-laws gave it me because they know and love me. I actually hadn't had an occasion to wear it before this week-end. And then I wore it for two days straight.

I wore it to jazzercise. My sixty-year-old spandex clad friends thought I was a hoot. They exercise in costume for Halloween, wear bells for Christmas. I thought it would be in keeping with the energy.

I wore it to zydeco class. John and I are getting ready to perform again at Folklife with Allons Danser, so we are taking zyedeco two hours every Saturday. Fabulous fun! There aren't enough men right now, so I am leading and learning more than if I followed. My hat doesn't really say down in the Bayou, but it does say I like to play and zydeco is so playful.

I wore it to the elementary school auction themed Night at the Fair. I was thinking more circus than fair, but I wasn't inappropriately dressed. Part of me feels badly that huge number of parent volunteers have to put in huge numbers of hours to put on an event whose sole purpose is to get all the parents to give lots of money. I feel badly that the only way we have pens in our classrooms is the PTA budget, but I also feel like we could all just write a check and save my sister, the PTA treasurer, a lot of work. However, I did have fun. My disco ball hat lured people over to the wine toss, helped snag the best cake ever, and when the real disco ball started going, got down. About that best cake ever, John made Chocolate Apricot Pecan Torte. He made it once before, for my birthday in '90. It's dense, textured, rich. It's worth 504.00 which is what our table paid to grab it in the dessert dash. Thank you John.

The rabbi wore a bright blue Thing One suit. The other rabbi dressed as Waldo. I saw jedi, Barbie, and a million Esthers, so my hat was completely appropriate for the Purim festival. Aside from having to force David to eat before he rushed off to the ring toss and the throw sponges at the rabbi booth, the Purim festival was the least stressful one so far. Rose was completely self sufficient and David did not freak out. He had fun in the bouncy house and waited patiently for his balloon light saber.

I'd been having so much fun with my hat I thought I'd give it one last whirl at the dance classes I TA on Sunday afternoons. So, it came country western dancing and two rounds of swing.

Now, I really need to get to a disco.