dance du jour

After swim lessons, my daughter and I passed the windows of the adjoining indoor field house and witnessed an unusual synchronized affair. Seven people dressed in sport shorts and tees gracefully moving close together in an undulating wave through a miniature garden. Each had an arm outstretched, eyes half closed in meditation and concentration. It looked like a choreographed dance. I was baffled, because this was a…….dog show.

…with an obstacle course. Seconds later, I realized the dancers had two minutes to walk, or “wave” in this case, through the obstacle course before the competition started, dogs in tandem. As we stopped to watch the canines dance through the course, I wondered how I incorporate dance and grace in ordinary, daily activities. I tried to imagine grace at the office, picking up the phone with my feet perched on the windowsill, pulling a FAX off the machine. That was so wrong, wrong, wrong! So were the grocery shopping and laundry analogies.

Rather, the kitchen is my swan lake. On balanced tiptoes with hair swept up, I can stir the batter, roll the dough, press the garlic, peel the apples, braise colorful vegetables, grill savory meats, et al, and get a three-to-four course meal on the table nearly every night. I can practically do it with my eyes closed. My dance du jour. My forte. Truthfully, meditation and relaxation for me often involve reading cookbooks.

Dancing through life is something I aspire towards, to live with as much grace as possible, despite the obstacles. Dancing is how I got to know my husband. A friend snapped the photo above of us on one of our very first dates, contra dancing. You can see us spinning in the lower left corner. It was twenty years ago that we met. Happy Anniversary, sweetheart. I’m so glad that our daily life dances have lasted for twenty beautiful years. Keep on spinning all you dancers.