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Get Up & Dance!
I know, I know, here I go again with an excuse of things that held me back from writing a post. I'm awful with these things, I do have good intentions, I'm just an amazing procrastinator!
This is what I have been up to:
- Editing my first novel (Yes! A novel! I'll blog about it soon... I promise)
- Writing the sequel to my novel
- Taking Lindy Hop dance lessons
- Buying records for my newly acquired portable record player (It's pretty adorable!)
- Planning mini vacations for this weekend coming & in mid-July to both Massachusetts
So today I thought I would talk about my dance lessons and how I finally got the courage up to sign up and go.
I'm not sure if you know, or if you follow me on my Facebook page, or Instagram, or know me personally, but I live everyday with anxiety and depression. I've had it for basically half my life now, probably more, but never got diagnosed until college. It's something I have to live and deal with everyday, some days are great, some days are just plain awful. When it's bad, it's really bad, I refuse to go out, getting out of bed and heading to work is a struggle, keeping a smile on my face at work, or having to run to the bathroom to "get it together" also happens. But after awhile (sometimes months, sometimes it has taken literally a year or two) I get out of my funk and start loving life and myself again.
This is one of those times, I have finally come back to loving things, people, life, etc. Something that I have always wanted to do was learn to swing dance.
Who didn't want to learn swing when this commercial for the Gap came out in the late 1990s???
I also wanted a pair of those pants too. Never got them though, maybe a knock off...
And what about the dance scene in "A League of Their Own"???
So after doing research and waiting months for a schedule that would work for me, I did it! I signed up for Lindy courses at Cat's Corner in Montreal. I go every Sunday from 2-3:30 PM.
Now, just my luck, my first day of class didn't go as swimmingly as I had hoped.
I live about an hour south of Montreal. The dance school is literally around the corner from where I did burlesque, so I knew the area like the back of my hand.
I left plenty early, set my google maps gps and headed out. Everything went swimmingly well, no traffic for the bridge, my usual exit was open, the city finally opened the Ville Marie tunnel and I got off at my exit. The road went from five lanes, to one, when I finally reached my desired street... It was blocked for a festival. Thanks Google.
***Shakes fist at the Mayor of Montreal for doing a big 375th celebration while the city is in constant construction and detours***
Fine, no problem, I'll take the next street up. Got blocked again one block up. Fine, I'll do a loop. Except everyone else was thinking the same. Fine, worse case I'll pay the $13-$20 for parking at a lot near the school. No biggie. I finally get to the lot, keep in mind I am now 15 minutes late, and the guy tells me they're full. I look around and there are literally eight freaking cars. Fine. I'll find free parking on a side street. Nope. Fat chance Meghan.
After driving a few blocks and cursing with my windows up. I see some poor guy loading his truck up with boxes. I pull up and asked if he was leaving. He was, ugh, thank God. I park, get out, and now have to find the parking meter to pay at. Pay, start to run to class.
Oh, did i mention i wore super loose fitting ballet flats that day?
Idiot.
I FINALLY get there, sweaty, heart pounding, out of breath and have to climb two flights of stairs. I was half an hour late, luckily for me, what they had taught the first half hour was the basic steps I already knew.
Class was great, music was fun, people were nice, some shy like me, and the teachers were fun! 3:30 came around and I felt fabulous. I smile as I walk down the bazillion blocks I parked down and got in my car. Decided, Meghan, you're a smart girl, take Pine all the way in the back of the city, avoid aaaalllll of downtown and the chaos and turn onto Atwater. You got this.
After avoiding potholes, that could easily swallow mini vans, I made it to Atwater.
Blocked.
No problem, you know this end of the city, you lived a few years here. I take Fort, go all the way down, catch Atwater and go to get onto the on ramp to the Champlain bridge.
Blocked.
Okay, no worries, there's a detour through Verdun. You got this. Follow the detour, like so many others were. Get onto the on ramp... What... The... Fu-... The bridge is closed and sends me off right away.
BACK DOWNTOWN.
I start to laugh, this is ridiculous.
But it's fine, I'll take Victoria. Follow some signs for the detour, which were far and few between.
***Shakes fists at Mayor Coderre***
Get onto the on ramp for Victoria, cones split the lanes into two. GPS says keep right, I see Victoria start to move away, i see cars on the LEFT getting on the bridge, as I move farther away. I scream "No!" about 20 times and a few F-bombs, until I realize my lane just does a tiny loop and gets on the bridge.
I get onto the south shore, finally, and call my husband. It took me over an hour to get off the God forsaken island.
I make it home, decide that all future classes I will give myself two and a half hours, in case. I now get to the city about an hour before class begins, but really don't care. The weather has been great and I walk around, sit and people watch, until class begins.
Honestly, if i hadn't been in my "healthy" mental state I am now, i would probably had turned around at that first lot I got denied at, and went home. I would have cried all the way, felt like a failure, think the teachers must hate me, and might have quit all together.
But I did it. I accomplished something so huge, to me, and I am SO proud.
So this was more or less a post to let you know that you can do this. Whatever it may be. You want to join a class, be it dance, art, karate, or maybe start jogging (I tried that last year to get fit and LOATHED it), or maybe it's just to go out for drinks with friends and socialize more. Anything you choose to set as a goal can be done. You may hit lots of detours, construction, tears, swearing, etc. But if you stick with it, tell yourself you can do it, you will.
You'll feel amazing too. I promise.
I'll try not to leave you for so long next time and post soon.
