A Love Affair

"The tango is a 3.5 minute love affair!"

The instructor at my tango lesson said this...and from my experience tonight, it is!
I am IN LOVE! In love with dancing. With the tango. And with life. Why did I wait so long to take lessons? I'm not sure. Dancing is probably my absolute favourite thing to do...yet I rarely (RARELY!) ever get out to dance!

Tonight, I went dancing! And I did have a 3.5 minute love affair with my dance teacher, as he danced the tango with me. It didn't matter that he's over 60 years old, slightly rounder in the middle, from Chili (and doesn't speak a lot of English) and not to mention, married (his wife is the co-teacher). It didn't matter...b/c it was the tango...and that's the tango.

Strangely, last year when I was in Peru, I met a couple that was dancing. I sat there mesmerized by them. They were the most stunning dance couple I had ever seen. I spoke to them after and they were dancing...the Argentina Tango! Until tonight, watching the dance instructors dance some similar moves to them, I had completely forgotten about this moment and the Argentina Tango! Hmmm...

This is the couple that I met in Peru. They were amazing!

They were totally inspiring! I'm so glad that unbenounced to me, I find myself in a dance lesson teaching the same dance that they were dancing!

Life is funny, isn't it?

Tonight, in class, the instructors talked about how, in America, we don't want to get "too close" to one another, whereas in Latin America, they have a much different view of "space" and dancing. They always dance close (as I'm sure my nieces and nephews and Kate can attest to in the salsa lesson they had in Guatemala a couple weeks ago)! The instructor came over to me at the exact moment he was making the point about spacial requirements (or lack thereof) and subconsciously, I took a step back. Everyone started laughing. It was very funny! I laughed.

But I got it!

How often do I subconsciously take a step back from "life"? How often do I keep my distance? How often do I refrain from saying what I really think or doing what I really feel? How often do I let my mind take over when, really, "the head must bow to the heart" as I read on a tea-bag (yogi tea) once. How often do I side-step that 3.5 minute love affair with life?

Too often!

I have a great feeling about these tango lessons. About life. About the future.

Salsa starts next Wednesday. I have a feeling that this summer could very well be one of those "defining moments" in life.

Imagine...if it's possible to have a 3.5 minute love affair while dancing the tango - how amazing could the rest of our lives be?

Mom, thank you for living your life like a great love affair. You and Don give me tons of hope! I love you!
Crystal