Dancing With Myself

I am no dancer. I look dance classes as a kid but became a dropout at age 10. My sister stuck with it and even progressed to wearing toe shoes, which to this day strikes me as being among the elite, advance ballerinas. She once let me wear a pair of her pale pink satin slippers with the hard wood-like tips, although I believe the saleswoman told us that toe shoes are actually glue and satin inside.  Anyway, the shoes pinched and crunched my toes and I, a total wimp, quickly shucked them off. 

If I am going to dance, I prefer being shoe-free. So it was good fortune that my most recent dance performance was in my living room, in bare feet, to music belting out of my computer. Every year I take part in the YMCA's free Thanksgiving workout. Usually it is held in the Y's gym but COVID shuttered the gym. But the Y is resourceful and took the workout online. This year's program was a Zumba exercise. While I missed the fun of gathering with a big crowd to do a good cardio workout, I wasn't too sad to  do my Zumba moves at home.

 A fellow Thanksgiving workout attendee once said she really only had one Zumba move down pat: the windsock. Basically, you start in a squat position and shimmy your way to standing with your arms waving above your head. It's an impressive move and certainly more than what I can do in a Zumba class. However, what I lack in coordination and perfecting different moves, I feel I make up in enthusiasm. I will fail my arms and legs in all directions, I will clap my hands and shout loud whoops. Since the workout was conducted via Zoom, my fellow participants couldn't really see my performance. That and my computer was positioned in such a way that my head was cut out of the frame.  

There are, however, a few disadvantages to at-home workouts. A few times I had to look over my shoulder to make sure I didn't ram into my arm chair and other times I just about danced into my sliding glass door.

The real stars of the whole of the event were the instructors. Every year I appreciate the fact they would take time on a major holiday to host this program  but this year's workout holds even more significance. For me, seeing other people, in any capacity, is a real gift. 

Thanksgiving, to me, is really about spending time with people you love and remembering what is important to you. For that reason, it is my favorite holiday. This year's Thanksgiving reminded me of how privileged I am to have my family, how lucky I am to have a wonderful job and how great it feels to join people over the internet and dance around my living room.