After about a month and a half of withdrawal, I finally got to go swing dancing tonight. (Ok, so last Saturday some friends and I got together to review some moves but that's not the same.) All I can say is, wow...I am so rusty. I actually was in pain at one point, certain muscles I forgot I had reintroduced themselves. I wouldn't have it any other way, though. My love of swing may not go back far (only to September) but it has definitely become a passion. I love to dance, I love to learn, I love to have fun with my friends and swing lets me do all three.
Life lesson learned from swing #12: You can learn a lot by being willing to try something new. I learn at least five new moves every dance and can't seem to get enough. As of now I've got basic East Coast, Lindy and Charleston under my belt, some Shag, and I started to pick up Shim-Sham. Man what a high.
I think it's interesting how much you learn about people just by dancing with them, especially from the girl's perspective. Life lesson learned from swing #8: Don't get Saucy with just anybody, you'll regret it. For those of you non-swinging types...Saucy is a kick in Charleston in which the girl is essentially kicking from a dip position; not something you want to do with a guy you don't trust to support you. I've learned a couple of particularly tricky moves (one being Saucy and another a basket swing in Lindy) that I've learned with certain partners and, as of yet, haven't found anybody else I've felt comfortable enough with to do those moves. A girl learns very quickly which guys she can and cannot trust, and often the guys you can trust on the dance floor are those that you can trust off. For my part, I can usually tell within the first three or four measures if the guy I'm dancing with is going to be able to carry his part or not. There are some guys I like dancing with because they are confident in their lead, a couple of guys I've danced with enough that I don't have to think about what I'm doing anymore; I can just let go and let them lead without worrying about them spinning me into a wall. Then there are some guys who just don't get the whole leading thing...You continually guess whether they are leading a spin or just being sloppy. Ergh. For those guys, life lesson learned from swing #7:If you move confidently you can get away with just about anything.
Surprisingly tonight there was a shortage of men, many a lady was in need of a partner. Luckily I knew a good number of the guys that were there, and had danced with them before, so I didn't end up on the wall too often. Still, it is quite the reverse of when I first started going to the dances.
So to recap, I am so excited to be swinging again.
While I'm on the topic of great guys, I want to say how incredibly blessed I am to know the group of gentlemen that I do. It means a lot to me to know and be able to spend time with my Christian brothers. I have a brother who is seven years older than me and was a real jerk while I was growing up. The only time he noticed me was to pick on me or have me entertain him when none of his friends happened to be around. Being an Army brat, he and my dad were the two guys I've spent the most time with in my life. This explains why I am so close to my dad; he is a strong man after Christ, a great leader for our family, and a bigger kid than I am. I can only hope to marry a man half as good as my father. (Yep, I'm his angel-baby. My future husband has some shoes to fill, let me tell you.)
Anyway, back to Christian brothers. In high school, I could count on one hand the number of guys I knew who even claimed to be Christian, let alone acted the part. So, I can't really express how much it means to me to be around men who truly follow after Christ. Example: Last semester, when hurricane Isabel came through, a group of Navigators was at the football game, some of the guys had painted up so they were shirtless and freezing. Tanya and I bought them cocoa and they were genuinely grateful. Point? These guys made us "Thank You" notes. Up until this point, I had never known a guy in my peer group that would write a thank you of his own free will, let alone quote Romans 16:1-2 in it and promise to be there if ever we needed something in return.
I still have that Thank You; I'm staring at it as it hangs above my desk even as I type this. To me, it's a reminder that chivalry is alive and thriving; that there are actual men in this world, not just skirt-chasing-hormone-sacks and machismo addicts; and that I am blessed to know men who know and live by 1 Timothy 5:1-2. I could go on commending these men of God and how important time with them is to me, how I feel completely at ease around them, how I know they would never let anybody mess with me...Like I said, I could go on for pages. I don't think I have enough words. If any of them happen to be reading this: thank you! Your deeds mean more than you will ever know.
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