The D Word–Dance

Dancing is one of my favorite pastimes. I don’t know whether I’m any good at it or not, but I still enjoy the dance floor. The motion, the swaying, the lively steps, moving with the music, it’s magical.

My favorite Garth Brooks song is “The Dance.” You’ve got to love the line—“I could have missed the pain, but I’d have had to miss, the dance.” It’s really all about the dance of life. It’s the work. It’s the fun. It’s the accomplishments, the sweat, the deadlines, the creativity, and the laughs and smiles along the way. That’s what makes life so incredibly wonderful. They’re all part of the dance.

When I was about five years old I can remember going to town on a Saturday night with my parents. We would go to a bar called “The Sister’s Café” where mom would work and dad would drink. My sister and I would hang out. The old drunks would put money in the jukebox and then give us dimes if we danced. Looking back on it, I’m sure some of them were trying to help entertain us, others I’ve got to wonder. Anyway, as soon as we had enough dimes, we would go to the movies. Strange as it may seem, that dancing left me both feeling sentimental and scarred. But I still like to dance.

And what lyrics are better than Lee ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance.”

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.
Dance….I hope you dance.

I have few regrets with my choices in life, but those I do have are not because I chose to dance but rather because I sit one out. Just dance.

And best of all, my favorite quote. (I don’t know who to attribute it to but I’ve had it on my wall for years.) “The reason the rain dance works is because they don’t stop dancing until it rains.” This reminder has kept me going many times when I wanted to give up.

What’s your favorite dance story? Did you dance or sit it out?

4 Comments
  1. Happy Birthday!!!!

    I’ve danced a lot in my adulthood. Ballet turned into liturgical dance, which turned into being a flying angel at the Crystal Cathedral’s Glory of Christmas and Easter. That introduced me to a friend who introduced me to a friend who had a dance group, Swing Shift, re-creating dances of the 20’s – 50’s. I Charlestoned, Shagged, and Lindy Hopped my way across southern California, including a performance at the opening of the 105 freeway – on an onramp!

    The dance group friend introduced me to horseback riding, and now I have two horses. My first horse propelled me into writing for an equine magazine, where I discovered my full-time passion. I now write a newspaper column and my book will be released later this year.

    See where dancing took me?

    http://gaylecarline.blogspot.com

  2. Wow, Gayle, I learn something new about you all the time. You’ve way out-danced me. Keep on dancing.

  3. When I think of ‘dance,’ I think of ‘dork,’ cuz that’s what I look like when I try to dance.

    Norm

    http://fangplace.blogspot.com

  4. Ah, Norm, I’ll bet some girl in junior high school told you that. It’s what happened to my son (who had actually taken dance classes – tap and hip hop), and he now refuses to go to any school dances.

    I agree with Tee – when no one’s watching, go ahead and put on some music, crank it up loud, then let your body move. It’s wonderfully freeing!

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