It’s been quite a dancing week for me and while I’m exhausted and sore and probably won’t be able to walk tomorrow (or the days following even), I feel exhilarated, energized and ready for more!
In addition to my 7.5 hours of teaching (this past week, last week and next week are a bit strange in the fact that I teach summer camp in the mornings and we are finishing up our evening classes as well so I’m teaching a lot more than usual). But the best and most rare part is I took THREE full ballet classes this week!
Ten years ago, I would have laughed at such a schedule being unusual but the last time I took three classes in one week was probably before I broke my foot (before I was married and before I had kids). I tried to take as many classes as possible while in Dublin when Sugarplum was old enough for me to be away but couldn’t afford a babysitter more than twice a week. And while I enjoyed my weekly ballet class while pregnant with Doodle, a second class a week was just a dream!
Even though Doodle has been able to be away from me long enough for me to go to a class for a while, my teaching schedule has prohibited me from returning to my weekly class. But now that my summer schedule has started, I’m free to get going again! (I desperately wanted to go last Saturday morning since I didn’t have to teach but it was performance day for Honeybun and my students and I would have been too rushed so decided not to go.)
This week just happened to work out that my parents were in town and graciously watched my children so I could go take the classes but with them leaving next week I’ll be stuck just taking my weekly Saturday morning class.
As a full-time, stay-at-home, in-it-all-the-flipping-time mommy, those moments of getting away are magical. I’ve had very few chances lately to do anything aside from being with my children and working with other people’s children. My aunt did watch the little ones twice this spring so I could go take class but I still wish I was able to go more, to have that time to just be me and not a mommy.
It’s common advice now for mommies to take the time to do things for themselves and it is really important to just be alone but I’ve found it so much more important to take that time and do something that I really love. Just being alone at the grocery store and even having coffee alone with a friend is not the same.
When I was a teenager my teacher used to constantly tell us that the dance studio was a safe place, a place where we should leave all our worries, concerns and problems at the door. A place where for that hour and a half you could put everything else aside and only focus on dancing.
I didn’t understand it back then and even struggled with focusing on only dancing through college. It wasn’t until I was dancing on my own time, until I was working full time and paying for my own classes and needed that break from my life that I really understood the magic of a dance class.
Even now, the only time I truly forget about my kids is when I’m in the dance studio. Sometimes I lose myself while teaching but often I still check my phone during water breaks to make sure the kids are okay. When I take class though, I focus completely on dancing. My children don’t even usually cross my mind as I focus on the movement and working my body properly. It’s really the only “me” time I get these days and it is precious!
