by Christina Carson
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| All Life Dances |
With the days acting a tad more like
spring, at least in the South, and a reasonable feeling of commitment from the
weather that it is not going to freeze our bums off yet again, this seems a
fairer question than it might have a month ago. Are you ready? Here goes. What
does your dance of life look like? Or better yet, which one of these little
tads is you?
I hate to say it but years ago, I
was definitely the child on the right, working so blinking hard to do it right,
to follow the rules, to please my keepers. As time went on, I started
collecting the alleged rewards of that choice, feeling increasingly trapped by
the whole affair. Then one day I started pushing the lines further apart until
they wouldn't move any further. At that point, I jumped outside of them. At 20
it was quite an adventure. At 50 it was scary as hell. At 68, I now dance down
my street after coming in from a run, ipod providing the music, my heart
dreaming up the steps. For a while, I feared the neighbors catching sight of
me. Now I don’t care. We didn't come here to follow anyone else’s moves, we
came here to figure out our own steps and dance for our lives. Go take one more
look at that little gal who hasn't agreed to the rules yet. May she carry that joie
de la vie through the rest of her life.
With thanks and love to my young friend,
Adrienne, who saw this and sent it to her dance-loving friend – so I could embarrass her yet again with my spontaneous high-stepping.
Keep an eye out.
Within the month, I will publish my latest endeavor, a trilogy entitle
Accidents of Birth. Three years in the writing, it’s finally done.
If you think you've known someone who knows how to live and love, wait until you met Miss Imogene Ware.
WOW OH WOW OH WOW! That was truly Awesome Christina. I promise, I will dance like that with you anytime!
ReplyDeleteWe will one day, for sure.
DeleteAs a teacher, I hope for students with a mix of both kids: joyful, excited, talented, creative; but also the kids who are respectful, follow directions, and team players. As writers we have to learn the rules before we can break them, and I think the same goes for dance.
ReplyDeleteShe was, however, very cute. Good luck with your trilogy.
Thank you for your good wishes, Chris, and you know I wish you well.
DeleteCan't wait for the new book!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pat. You know as a fellow writer how wonderful such words sound. Hope you are well.
DeleteI really like that part about "my YOUNG friend Adrienne..." You are truly wise.
ReplyDeleteAnd my eyes are PEELED for Accidents of Birth.
PS I'm not sure, but I think I might be embarrassed if you really get into like I think you do...
It's a relative universe. What can I say. Well rest assured I'll pick the most judicious location for you to find out...he, he,he.
DeleteHilarious, I really enjoyed the tap dancing! And can't wait to read your book! (PS: I'm afraid I was that kid on the left, never following rules...)
ReplyDeleteGood for you. And I am sure as you look back over your life you can account for those many successes by the fact that rules didn't own you. And we're all the luckier for it. Thanks, Claude. Always a delight to have you stop by.
ReplyDeleteAppreciatee your blog post
ReplyDelete