Today, on my last day of my 30s, I found myself having a moment that I was not expecting, that I thought I'd share.
Some of you may think that today is my birthday since today is day 40 of my 40 Days to 40, but my birthday is actually tomorrow. So day 40 is, in fact, the last day of my 30s. I can't say it was a miscalculation per se - it was something of a choice.
Today, on my last day of my 30s, I found myself having a moment that I was not expecting, that I thought I'd share.
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You may remember that near the beginning of this project, on Day 7, I went to see the Dusk Dances in Withrow Park. I had misunderstood the nature of the event and was disappointed that I didn't get to do any dancing.
So today I did some dancing! It's kind of a travesty that it took til Day 36 to dance, but there it is. I didn't go night club dancing - those nights are becoming more and more infrequent (so sad!). I went to a dance studio called Joy of Dance. I don't think there could be a better name for a dance studio - that is exactly what I feel when I dance. Come to think of it - there should be a "Joy of Chocolate" chocolate bar, a "Joy of Singing" choir or karaoke bar and a "Joy of Cooking" cookbook. Oh - someone already thought of that one I guess. I've said before that being a parent is not a glamorous job. But it can be a lot of fun. In fact, a big part of parenting and getting through the mundane parts of it, in my opinion, is amusing yourself - even if the kids aren't in on the joke. I love it when my kids ask me huge existential or philosophical questions without realizing it.
Today, for instance, on a three-hour drive to a cottage, my daughter asked me, "Are we here?" I, of course, responded "Yes, in fact, we are here. We are always right here." She totally didn't get it, nor did my son. So she asked again, "Are we here yet?" I answered her "Well, now that you mention it. I'm not really sure. I suppose the question is really 'do you believe we are here?' and 'how could we possibly tell if we here or not?'" It went on like this for a while. You probably think that I eventually answered the question which I knew she had been asking. The answer would have been "No we aren't there yet - we just pulled out of our driveway." (I'm not kidding about that.) Eventually she got bored of my silly answers so she stopped asking. I should really explain to here the difference between "here" and "there." ![]() The only painting that I've done in the past 20 years has been with my kids. And usually I'm the one cleaning the paint off various surfaces (floor, ceiling, face etc) as opposed to applying it to paper, let alone a canvas. I've come to see myself as a creative person but not really visually creative. In spite of this, I went to a painting class at this very cool place, the Paintlounge. No Routine Is a Good Routine?Today I decided to focus on something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I keep struggling with the idea of creating a routine or ritual. After I became a parent, I realized quite a few things about myself - one of which was that I do not have a routine. I seem to not be able to do routines. I don't know why. I've just come to realize that this is 100% true. Another thing that I'm only starting to come to terms with is that maybe that's OK.
So trying to create a routine of any kind, not to mention a creative routine, is just never going to happen. So I've thought about trying something different - something a bit more fun and with a bit more variety. Day 10! What can I say? I'm a quarter of the way there - only 30 days left in my 30s. Since the past nine days have been fairly active, I thought today would be a good day to go for bold by putting out there something creative (this feels a little scary for me, which makes it also feel bold that I'm actually doing it).
At the end of last year, I lost my job. The silver lining was having a bit more time to read books, articles and blogs to help me move forward in my life; continue learning about myself and my personal strengths; and start to take action in some of my creative interests. I suppose that this blog is a result of the past seven months of this new-found time and work that I've been doing. ![]() Since the beginning of the year, I've been talking to my six-year-old son, Mekhi, about taking guitar lessons. For several different reasons, it just didn't happen. But this 40 day project gave me the kick in the butt that I needed to finally get this organized (with only a minor hiccup last Thursday). Today we had our first lesson. Yes - we're taking lessons together. I was excited to start learning the guitar and I was and am even more excited that we're taking them together. Ok - perhaps I have some unrealistic visions of the two of us practicing together for hours every day (I did say they were unrealistic). And frankly I've always wanted to learn to play the guitar. I love to sing but people look at you funny when you just break into song (unless you live in New York). But singing while playing a guitar? Now you're no longer headed for an evaluation. Today I was totally excited to do some dancing in WIthrow Park at the 20th annual Dusk Dances festival. As it turns out, the Dusk Dances evening is a series of dance performances all over the park - not happening simultaneously but one after the other and the entire audience moves together around the park to watch each performance.
So I spent the first 15 minutes in the park very confused. Once I joined the big group of people listening to a band (No dancing in sight. Apparently, there's an opening band), I got on track for an evening of six very different dances. Each dance was better than the last. So feel free to skip the first one, but definitely do not miss the last three. ![]() I'm sitting out in my backyard as I write these words. The notebook I'm writing in has one of my favourite quotes on it, "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." It may not be the sum total of my personal philosophy but it's definitely a part of it. The green and white pen I'm using says, "Verdant Fields Nudist Camp / Get in touch with your OUTER self! / Enjoy ping pong, volleyball, & our famous bottomless buffet / www.buffisbeautiful.com." (Bottomless buffet tehehe) |
I want to feel...Creative. Connected. Bold. Active. Productive. Old PostsDay 36: Dancing After Dusk Archives
September 2014
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