Carefree attitude can be embarrassing but fun

I grew up as a Protestant, so I never developed the ability to just hang loose and not care what others think about me. At all costs I avoid doing anything that will make me look foolish in the eyes of others.
So I find it difficult to watch people that are able to be fun, sporadic and carefree. I feel as though they may be embarrassing themselves and they need someone to tell them to act “normal.”
That’s how I felt at Brews, Brats & Bands Saturday night in Stevens Point when the couple in front of us danced, kissed and partied as if they were the only ones there. My wife, Jenny, and I, along with others around us, couldn’t believe the show they put on, one that threatened the main stage performance in terms of entertainment value.
It started out harmless and slow. They set up their space with a blanket and pretty cool rocking lawn chairs. As a people watcher, I tend to focus on people I think will be entertaining, even if it is painful to watch. People watching is always fun, no matter where I am, but it always seems a little better at events like this.
I found a target right away – a young woman who danced the same for every song – never expecting the couple right in front of me to be the much better target.
As I watched my target, Jenny pointed out the lady eight feet from us was having a really good time. I glanced at the lady, agreed with Jenny, and was perfectly content to allow her to provide updates whenever she did anything worth watching. I needed to continue watching one-dance woman.
I didn’t have a chance, as Jenny kept interrupting the sideshow I was watching to look at her find. This lady had multiple moves dancing to the songs – none of them to the beats and rhythms of the song – and she partied as though it was 1985 and the last day of her high school career.
Her husband was much more reserved at first, at one point setting up a perimeter around the blanket. I told Jenny it was to keep others from moving into his territory, since the crowd started to grow.
But Jenny completely nailed it when she told me it was to keep his wife/girlfriend confined from unleashing her inner-party beast to the rest of the crowd. Because as the night progressed, she never left the blanket area, while her husband/boyfriend made numerous food and drink runs, which contributed to him becoming more like his wife/girlfriend.
Shortly after music resumed following a break, both of them were in even better spirits, rocking like John Lennon and George Harrison had come back from the dead and reunited with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on their own private stage in Stevens Point.
Without a warning, painfully watching them embarrass themselves became even more painful, not because I felt sorry for them but because I became jealous they were able to have such a good time.
I was having a good time, mostly at their expense, but I could tell they were having a better time than anyone there. Heck, as far as they were concerned they were watching a reunited Beatles. I wanted to be watching that too.
This ultimately leads me to a dilemma. Would I rather not embarrass myself or would I rather have a lot more fun? It’s a question I’m still trying to figure out an answer to.
It’s also one that greatly depends on the people around me. I was recently boating with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend. Feeling carefree and not caring whether or not I embarrassed myself, I stood up on the bow of the boat and yelled “I’m king of the world,” like Leonardo DiCaprio did in “Titanic.” Others on the lake laughed, amused someone would do such a thing but completing appreciating the humor involved.
My sister-in-law and her boyfriend reacted as I would have had someone else done it – embarrassed. Although I amused others on the lake, they were not so amused.
In reality, I interact with them on a regular basis, while I’ll probably never see the others on the lake again. If I can handle the knowledge that I embarrassed others because of my actions, then I’ll learn to become more carefree. If not, I’ll remain a typical Protestant. But inside I’m having a lot of fun thinking about the possibilities of letting loose.