I left it ALL on the dance floor….

Those of you who know me well know I was always painfully shy growing up.  I know this is very hard to believe for many of you given the fact that I never shut up now  J    But I assure you I was.  In fact, I ate lunch by myself in the stairwell during high school.  So shy that when I went to my 20 year-reunion, I regressed and became mute again!  It was so embarrassing I was too shy to talk to people, “What the hell is wrong with me!  I am not this person anymore; I stand in front of groups of professionals conducting trainings!  HELL I teach them how to engage others… SHAKR it off!”

By chance I aligned myself with a few very outgoing and gregarious people as I grew up, and I was satisfied being the “sidekick” and hanging in the background (I know, I know…me?)

One memory stands out do to the enormity of its embarrassment. 

As a freshman in high school I caught the eye of a popular and well-liked junior.  He was a football player and had many good friends.  Due to the fact I was so shy I had few friends to speak of and easily assimilated into his life, and his friends.  They were all great and worked hard to break me out of my shell.

Well, this particular time it was at Homecoming Dance.  Being the awkward and insecure little girl that I was I tried to just sit and watch everyone dance.  I was happy with that I could watch them and dance a little in my seat. However, this was not satisfactory to my new friends.  They tried and tried, and I dodged and dodged, until they decided this just was not going to work for them.  They picked up my chair and brought me right out onto the dance floor!!!!   All I could do was laugh and just let go…NOT of the chair, but my insecurities J

Well this time, no one needed to pick up my chair to get me on the floor…I rolled myself out there!  I have to admit there were a few moments in which I did consider how ridiculous I must look out there in my chair.  But this time they were far easier to let go of… a simple pirouette and I owned that floor J

I have to say I was surprised at the level of energy it takes to dance even when you are sitting down. I was sweating up a storm with everyone else.

My favorite part of the night was when Joel held me up, my arms wrapped tightly and resting on his shoulders, as he danced me back and forth… “I was dancing just like everyone else…I was whole in that moment.”

Of course followed-up by my crazy-ass man dancing up a storm with me in my chair… dancing low as he could without falling on his ass J

If the party leading up to the New Year is a sign of what is to come… then I predict I will be crowned THE “Dancing Queen” of 2012!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!