Dancing

Did I tell you I danced at the wedding of my mom's 75-year-old water exercise instructor and her 80-year-old groom?  They had this dance floor, a great DJ, and the desire for people to dance.  Getting the dance party started was slow.  The crowd was on the more mature side.  Mind you this was a party at 1 pm in the afternoon.  It started with one lady out there on the floor. She was fantastic and didn't seem to care she was alone  Then a couple more people trickled in and out.  Did I say the music was great dance music?  My super uncoordinated feet were itching to dance.  But I don't dance in public unless the crowd is 5 years old and under.  But I so wanted to and Mom was encouraging me to go out there.  I heard the lady next to me tell her husband she wanted to dance but no one was on the floor.  I told her, if she went, I would go.  And so we did.  More people began to join us. I think the biggest crowd we had on the dance floor was about 12 people.  But we were surrounded by a crowd of people who though not able or willing to dance on their feet, were obviously dancing in their seats.  In fact, one lady brought her chair out to the dance floor and joined us.  It was one of the most fun parties I have attended.

Here is what I decided.  I still am as uncoordinated as I have ever been. I don't dance gracefully.  But I love music and I love to dance.  And I have decided to make it a point to dance more.  So as we finished up "Music" week at the preschool this summer I hosted a big dance party with a hundred 1 to 5-year-olds.  A co-worker made an awesome kid-friendly dance party playlist and we had a ball.  Yesterday I decided to listen to some Carolina Beach music.  Then I decided I needed to know how to move my feet with some semblance of order.  I spent an hour googling Caroline Shag steps and trying to get my feet to follow the sequence.  With repeated practice, I think I finally have the basic steps.  Shag is a couples dance and I don't have a dance partner.  But that's okay.  I don't really care I can dance by myself, in my living room.  I have just decided to no longer let fear and lack of coordination stop me from trying to dance.