Dozens of Homeschoolers, Dancing For Hours!

As I mentioned at the beginning of the month, June 12th was the homeschool prom. The Spring Fling is something my sisters, friends and I look forward to year-round - it's the one night a year when dozens of homeschoolers from all over the area get together to have fun and dance for hours. It's a pretty big deal and a ton of fun! Which is why it's probably surprising that in the days leading up to it, I almost completely lost my desire to go.

I don't mention it a lot on here, but I have a lot of skin issues. Eczema on my hands, psoriasis all over my torso, and for the past few months I've even had some red, irritated skin on my face. I've had a lot of these issues for years, and Mom and I are always trying to figure out how to clear them up. So earlier this month, we started a Candida diet. Basically, Candida is a kind of yeast, and when you have a Candida overgrowth in your body it messes a lot of stuff up. I've done a Candida diet halfway once or twice, and Mom and I are pretty sure my skin issues (at least some of them) have a lot to do with Candida. So now we're doing a heavy-duty Candida diet - which basically means that you're taking away the Candida's food source. As it's a yeast, that means you have to stop eating all kinds of sugars (including fruit sugars), starches (like potatoes - they convert to sugar when digested), that sort of thing. It takes some dedication, but in less than two weeks my hands have almost COMPLETELY cleared up (they look like the hands of a normal human being again!) and my face is nearly clear as well.

Of course, the Candida is also the reason I didn't want to go. During stage one of the Candida diet, you go through a period where the Candida starts to die off, releasing lots of toxins and making you feel sick. Over the past week, I've had throbbing headaches and chills, I've been tired and worn-out, less hungry than usual, and basically I've just spent a lot of time laying around and being pathetic. I had no desire to do anything productive, much less go to a prom, where I would have to stay up late and actually dance!

On Monday, I was so blaaaahh I didn't even care if I missed the Spring Fling. But on Tuesday morning, even though I woke up with a headache, a tiny little part of me still felt like if I missed the dance I would be disappointed. So Mom told me to rest all day and we'd go to the dance, because we both knew I'd regret it if I didn't.

Jordan, Riley and me, just before we left! Photo edited by Jordan.

Getting ready for the Spring Fling takes us hours. The girls started after lunch and they still weren't ready until it was time to go! This year, though, I didn't fuss as much about all the getting ready. I took a shower, I let Mom do my hair and makeup, I got dressed, and I was done. (So much less effort!)

See, I look a little tired. But I was there! Also, note the shawl that Gramma lent me - my great great gramma crocheted it!

Then we got there, and since Mom was on the wait staff (yes, we actually have a sit-down dinner...the parents take this dance as seriously as we do!) we were about an hour early. But once my friends started showing up around six, I started feeling like I might actually enjoy myself. For over an hour there were professional photos taken (I didn't want an individual shot, but I got in on some group photos), we sat around and chatted - Sunshine and I sat next to each other and talked, which kept me cheerful and awake while we waited for our food.

There's Sunshine and me, and a few friends...

I was starting to feel tired again by the time the salads came out, but when Mom finally brought me my main course I ate and got some more energy. And after dinner, it was time to dance!

The dance floor...don't the lights make the mural look AWESOME?!

The theme was Under the Sea, and the decorations were fantastic! I'd been too under the weather to help set up the day before, but the girls and a bunch of my friends had gone, and they and the parents had done a fabulous job!

The hall looked amazing!

This year was my fourth Spring Fling, and more than anything else it felt like the most laid-back of all of my dances. Normally I'd worry about who was going to sit at our table, who we had room for, but this year Jordan and Graystorm planned it without me. Honestly, I was perfectly fine with it - I just sat down and let our friends find us! I'm usually super excited and searching out friends, making sure to say hi and hug everyone, but this year (due to my lack of energy) I was calmer and kind of just waited until I saw them or they came over. Every year, I'm always so conflicted on what song to request - (which one's a better dance song? which one will be more worth it?) - but this year Jordan requested a song and the DJ couldn't get her iPod to play, so I didn't feel any pressure to get a good song on. (Besides, he had a pretty good playlist anyway!) I'd left my camera at home, so I didn't feel like I had to snap photos of everything. (Everyone thank Jordan for the pictures!) And normally I'm hyperaware of the time passing; I want to be dancing every minute, and even though usually we stay until nearly midnight it's hard to justify leaving the dance floor, even for a few minutes. (What if I miss a good song?) This year, though, I knew we wouldn't be staying much later than ten, ten-thirty, and I didn't worry about it. I knew I didn't have the energy to dance for hours straight, so I danced and sang on the good songs and then sat out in between, either with Mom or with my friends. In fact, it gave me a chance to talk to Val for a little while, which was fun.

Me and Sunshine, with Graystorm in the way back, wearing the fedora.

And I had a great time! Being at the dance actually made me more alert, and happier, and more lively than I'd been in days. I had a blast, being with my friends. Altogether, it was a success, and I'm quite glad I ended up going, despite it all.

I wonder what on earth next year's dance will bring?!

Thanks Jordan for all the photos! If you guys want to see more shots of the night (as well as comparison shots from past years, haha!), check out Jordan's Spring Fling post here. Also, don't miss the giveaway she's hosting! It's Harry Potter/Hunger Games themed, with some really great prizes off of Etsy and SEVEN winners. DO NOT MISS IT! Enter here!

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