Beth's Ponderings
I love to dance.
I took Highland Dance lessons for 23 years and earned my Teaching Certificate. I also took a year of Ballet, and as an adult, I enjoyed Irish Dance lessons for a couple of years.
I also enjoy dancing waltzes, polkas, and two-stepping. My favourite part of gym class was the dancing - which always was too brief. When my sister was in Grade 9, I attended her gym class during the dancing weeks to provide another girl for the boys to dance with, and for the teacher to have a partner to demonstrate some of the dances.
My Dad was a wonderful dancer, and it was a thrill every time I got a chance to dance with him. The very first time was when I was 15 at my Grade 9 Farewell at Mirror School. My Dad was from a family, and an era, where they all got together on the weekends to dance. When my parents met, Dad was involved in three dance clubs in Calgary and dancing most nights during the week.
Once, following our performance at the Robbie Burns night in Camrose, a couple of veteran dancers decided they were going to teach my sister and I how to social dance. After a brief verbal lesson, the music started and we started dancing. They exclaimed, “You know how to dance!” Seemed very few “young” people they knew could waltz.
I also enjoy dancing around the room with my 4 year old niece who enjoys any type of music or rhythm.
Recently, I came across this quotation...
“Optimist: Someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's a cha-cha.” ― Robert Brault
It was also a very timely reminder that the healing journey I’m on isn’t a linear Point A to Point B to Point C, etc. journey, but more of a graceful dance circling around, sometimes revisiting a spot I’ve already been before - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And it reminded me of another famous dance quotation…
“Life’s a dance, you learn as you go. Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow. Don’t worry about what you don’t know. Life’s a dance, you learn as you go.” (sung by John Michael Montgomery)
Beth
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