Dance like no one is watching ...

People who know me well say that I can't dance. My children swear that I can't dance. They laugh at me ... a lot. They make me promise not to dance around them. Someone could get hurt, they say. It's not like I don't have rhythm because I do. Honestly. My feet just haven't figured it out yet.

When I was young my parents enrolled me in ballet. I should have known then. There was an end of year performance for my class. All the proud parents showed up to watch their cute-as-button children dance. My class came on. The woman sitting beside my mom said, "Oh my, I wonder whose child that one is", shaking her head and laughing. "She's like an elephant." Mom slumped down in her chair hoping that there was no resemblance between the two of us.

And it's true. I love watching people dance. And I think it looks so natural when people have that talent. But as someone once said, " You can teach an elephant to dance, but the likelihood of it stepping on your toes is very high". And ... that's me. I am admitting it now. My husband and I went out dancing with another couple here on Grand Turk. There are a lot of spots where you can dance. And people are really good at it. But have you ever noticed how some people can't resist a challenge? Someone asked me to dance and I reluctantly went out onto the dance floor. Two minutes in I was escorted back to my husband, with my dance partner shaking his head. Of course, someone else saw that exchange and came up to me. "I will teach you". He took my hand and lead me into the middle of the room. "Let me lead", he said.

The problem with me is, I don't know how to do that. I tried, I really tried. He turned me left and I went right. He moved me backwards and I stepped on his toes. He tried to gently direct me ... and after three minutes he directed me right off the floor, saying to my husband "She can't dance".

So I hate to admit it but my children are right about this. I am good at a lot of things but dancing is definitely not on that list. But that's okay. I will keep watching and enjoying those who can do it and as the quote goes " Sing like no one is listening / Love like you’ve never been hurt / Dance like nobody’s watching / and live like it’s heaven on earth."

At least I do live where it feels like heaven on earth, and that's a dance of its own. And when I do end up dancing again, I'll just make sure that no one is watching. It's better that way.