Underwear and Glow Sticks

For two weeks, we have been trying to organize a dance for the boys. Last week, we had everything ready to go, only to find that the center had no power. There had been a powerful windstorm a few days earlier that knocked down a tower and the power authority was unsure when they could have it back up and running.

I left a bit disappointed, but not before we distributed a few gifts for the boys. As some of you may remember, I created an Amazon Wish list around Christmas time to give people a chance to donate items to the center. The response was overwhelming and every item was purchased in only a few weeks. Thank you to everyone who bought an item! On this list was underwear, something the boys desperately needed. Although we could not celebrate a dance that night, we did celebrate with new underwear. Every boy received his very own pair. Spiderman was ecstatic when we saw that his pair showed a picture of the real Spiderman!

Getting ready to distribute

Eric receiving his pair!

This week, we were finally able to have our dance. We recruited our friend Willy to DJ and gave out 200 glow sticks donated by the students at Woonsocket High School in Rhode Island. Once the music started, the boys didn’t need any more prompting. They took to the floor and busted a move, and the glow sticks too. Soon the boys and dining hall was covered in glowing liquid and full of 100 dancing boys.

I raced around the perimeter, pulling boys who were standing on the outside into the middle. Some songs they had fully-choreographed dances to show off. Sean Paul’s Temperature played 4 times that night and each time, the dance group took control of the floor. Other times, the boys jumped up and down and cheered. It felt like one of my middle school dances, especially when I spotted a few tears because of stolen glow sticks. But that problem was easy to fix.

The boys and I.
Photo credit: Elizabeth

When it was time to end, we turned the lights on. In protest, the boys turned them back off. It was a night they didn’t want to end.

On our way home, Ally handed out the remaining glow sticks to people we passed and to the passengers on our bus from the center to Remera. The bus conductor and the other passengers thought they were the funniest things ever and laughed the entire ride as they experimented with them. The final consensus was to shove them into their hair.