January 8

January 6 was Twelfth Night – and that means we now have King Cake on the counter! Carnival season has begun.

I am in a walking krewe this year called the Candy Girls. We wear purple wigs and purple spangly outfits and do coordinated marching dances to various songs about candy and sugar. They slot us into parades in between floats, where we march along while a Ford F150 drives behind us towing a loud amp and a closed trailer with a bucket and some kitty litter (the gritty details of MG parading). I’ve been practicing with the group since autumn – we meet in a local park under a giant oak, the leader dragging an amp on wheels up onto the roots and then shouting dance moves at us as Britney pounds through the speakers. Wings! Shoulder shimmy! Wings! Dolly Parton arms! We are now just four weeks away from our first parade and kids at the park are starting to gather and watch from a distance as we practice, and I love the attention so much (theater major!) I wasn’t sure whether to do this given the time commitment for practices, and I am so glad I decided to just jump in. I rarely regret a group activity – something I should remember about myself for the future.