Keep Dancing!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I spent 6 days a week doing some form of dancing class. Whether it be Refit, Dancefit, or Zumba, I am surrounding myself with genuinely wonderful people who love music and love to get a good workout while dancing. I have a bonus group that I have been dancing with for the last year and a half. It started out with just a group of active older adults from the YMCA who wanted to learn choreography for a song or two. It wasn’t meant to be like cardio dance classes where there are cardio moves in it, but literally a dance class for adults. Heather was the instructor (she has a lot of experience teaching dance of all kinds to all ages). I was allowed in as I don’t quite make the age requirement for active older adults at the Y. The first year, there was maybe 7 or 8 of us who performed at YMCA active older adult activities at one YMCA in the Omaha metro area. This year we generally have 15 to 20 performers and we practice at two YMCA locations and perform at them both as well. It has blossomed into a group of adult women of varying ages (we have even had a few men join off and on). We have performed Christmas songs, hip hop, country, hula, you name it. We had our last performance this past week and our last gathering before summer break on Friday afternoon. I came to that practice ready to just have fun…to thank Heather for all her choreography skills and patience with us bumbling around with moves called “the sassy cat” and “stanky leg”. Nothing gets me to giggling more than a 75 year old plus woman asking with a completely straight face exactly how to do the “stanky leg” move. It still gets me giggling. Over the last two years, I have befriended Heather and we figured out we had a lot in common. I will never forget the time she called me 18 months ago while I was traveling on the way back from visiting my parents in Houston. She wanted to know what size tutu to order for me for our first performance. I had literally lived 50 years before anyone ever asked me that question! We often stay after practice and chat for awhile, which has really been wonderful for me, as I am so often alone. When Joe died 13 months ago, these women gathered around me and loved me when I was so completely distraught. Going to these dancing rehearsals have been the highlight of my week since they started back in the fall of 2021.

This past Friday’s practice was a surprise for me! I walked in to a beautiful bouquet of flowers, beautiful shining faces, and a cake that said, “Keep Dancing!” They gave me a beautiful candle called “Joy + Laughter”, some chocolates, and best of all, a dark purple tutu with a matching sequined bow for my hair! I told them that would now be in my camera bag and I would don them when I could and post photos so they knew I was thinking of them. Then we danced and I left feeling so very blessed to have each and every one of these women in my life. I will miss this group so much, but if I am ever in Omaha, I will be crashing a rehearsal! I promise!