random thoughts – Day 1,644 – (Tuesday) – back at it

Life has gotten busy with a new dalliance in night classes. Nearly three weeks ago, the Thursday night five-week ballet class in Wayland began. And it was good. Tonight, the ten-week belly dance class in Marlboro began. And it, too, was good. On the drive, I got to see the shiny full moon sitting large and low-ish in the sky. I can almost never see it from the house, so it was fun when it suddenly appeared.

For several years, there were classes I wanted to take but life was kind of in the way. One impediment was the expensive health issues of my two beloved, elderly dogs. My wallet was tied up with special prescription food and even more costly medications. I really miss the pups, but I don't miss the expenses involved.

The other impediment to taking classes was that most of the classes I wanted to take were on Tuesday nights, some of which were already committed to Board of Director activities. That would have meant missing multiple sessions of whatever class was enrolled in. The board had term limits, and my term recently ended, freeing my time for leisure pursuits. A shortage of dance classes in Lowell means that as of tonight, I’m driving to Metrowest twice a week.

There was a time, once upon a lifetime ago, when I lived near the school where the newest class is located, but that does not in any way mean I could get to it without the assistance of navigation software. Tonight, I was navigated in through a back route. Then I drove around the massive structure, past an automotive building and another marked culinary.

I finally arrived at what was recognized as the main entrance from long ago classes taken there. Classes taken in the last century included inline skating, portrait photography, flamenco dance, night club dance as an aerobic sport, and a Latin dance class taken with an ex so he could know how to dance with his new girlfriend at parties. Yes, for real. The class was a public display of our former relationship with me nagging him for not doing what the instructor said and also me trying to lead because one, he was doing a crappy job of it, and two, in ballet I was usually stuck dancing the lead in partnered dances because I was taller. That class was also a demonstration of how I don’t follow weak leaders very well.

Deserted.

Anyway. I strode the absolutely deserted hallway with the shiny floors for what felt like a very long distance before finding the correct cafeteria. And there was the class. 

Several dancers stood around chatting. A table was piled with hip coin scarves for sale. And then boom, at the class start time, we were doing a warmup which was a full blown dance that everyone else except two of us knew. Then we started working on a new choreography., followed by a review of another dance the other students had worked on before, but with combinations broken down, thank goodness.

The whole thing was pretty great. It was a combination of different from the class I’ve been taking for the past several years, but familiar enough to not feel overwhelming. And the best part is, next week I get to go back. 

When the Sunday class resumes again, it will be like high school when I danced three days a week. For a week or two anyway. Sometimes, I just need to shake things up, but all the driving to all the far flung towns could be the deciding factor in how long it continues.