Blessing #102 - Dancing

One of my New Year's resolutions involved our date nights. Right now, Shad and I average a date night about every three months. Now I'm no relationship expert, but that sounds like too few date nights. I resolved to have a date night once a month.

But wait there's more!

I also made a goal of having more "fun dates." Right now, our dates all look the same...

step 1. go out to eat (and talk about the boys, bills, and work)

step 2. go to a store

While that date is great, I felt like we were in a rut. We have so much going on right now, I knew that Shad and I both needed a little more fun.

Shortly after I made my resolution, I saw that a local library was having an "Introduction to Ball Room Dancing" class. It was perfect, a fun and free date! There was only one problem....SHAD HATES TO DANCE!

He has difficulty clapping on beat, and dancing seems impossible to him. I knew selling him on the whole, "Let's take a dance class!" would be a big task.

I started working on him a few weeks before the class. Shad's initial response was a quick, emphatic, "No," but I expected that. After some coercion, manipulation, and begging, Shad agreed to go to the class with me.

The class lasted for an hour. In that time, we learned a basic box step which we used in the waltz and salsa. We also learned a basic rock step which we used in the bolero and the rumba. At the end we danced a few meringue steps. They packed so much into the hour, but it was great!

I think Shad let the class get to his ego when he labeled his water bottle "Max." That's when you know you've seen too many episodes of dancing with the stars.

My best description of our dance skills would be "clunky," but we had a ton of fun. Shad concentrated so hard on the dance steps that he had his tongue stuck out through most of the dances.



At one point, Shad said, "The part of my brain that should be able to do this doesn't work. See I can feel it right back here. (He then pointed to the back of his head) It doesn't work!"

We may not have been the best dancers, but I believe we had the most fun. We laughed most of the hour. For that hour, we didn't talk about the boys, the bills, doctor's visits, or work. For that hour, we just enjoyed being together, laughing, and making a new memory just for us.


I have to give a big thanks to my friend Rachel (and her husband Luke) for watching the boys for us during the class.

If you have any good ideas for fun dates, please let me know. I have 11 more months to plan.