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Lessons at Age 39
I had a birthday a week and a half ago. Birthdays are a time to reflect on my life over the past year, and this particular birthday, I found myself reflecting on the past decade. The last couple weeks, I have been reminded of some important lessons I’ve learned over the past 10 years, so while the literal paint dries (more on that later), I thought I would make the time to share.
You may have seen on social media that I fell on my butt in ballet class a couple weeks ago. I was attempting an assemblé and my feet slipped out from under me. Down I went. Thanks to a generous backside, my pride hurt more than my body. The ironic thing was earlier in class, I was feeling out of sorts at the barre and very aware of the fact that my curves did not conform to the typical ballet body. I would have been hurting a lot more without those curves!
At the end of class, after asking again if I was ok, the teacher commented on how much I had improved in class. Really? I felt like a bumbling elephant seal during that class, but she saw my feet pointing more, my elbows staying up, and improved balance in my relevé. Lesson/Reminder #1 — you’re doing better than you think you are, even on the days you fall on your butt.
The following week, we did the same assemblé sequence and I did not fall on my butt. Progress! We also did pique turns across the floor and I was delighted to feel…
