"The Routine"

As a kid, the hot summer months could sometimes hold you hostage in the house with the AC. Days such as these left you with only a few options, depending on your household (and age): Anything involving dress up, video games, make believe or music. If you had parents like mine, video games were pretty much out of the question, and dress up and make believe could only last so long before boredom set in; Leaving us with music, sweet, sweet music!

The early days consisted of cassette tapes and the few radio stations we could actually pick up, then we gradually progressed to CD's. But what didn't change? The Routines.

Practicing until we had every move down pat, we'd have our routines perfected just in time to bombard our parents as they walked through the door from work. Our routines changed based on music selection and mood, not to mention skill level.

Growing up I thought we were the only ones with "Routines", but recently I have been enlightened. It all started when I saw 'The Routine' episode of FRIENDS. Brother and sister duo, Ross and Monica, busted out their routine below. At the time, it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen, but it made me realize, maybe we weren't the only family creating and performing these crazy "Routines".

And then it happened. So quickly and naturally. Last weekend, my darling boyfriend and his sister jumped onstage at Howl at the Moon in Baltimore (to understand why this was such an easy task, visit http://www.howlatthemoon.com/) and performed what I believe was a routine. While he claims he was just following her lead, it was too well rehearsed and smooth for me to buy it. There were some underlying roots of routines past radiating off the stage. I wasn't able to capture it on video, however I was able to snap a few pictures.

I'm determined to believe every family has some sort of routine up their sleeves for special moments like this, and if they don't they should!