Dancing

   C and I were invited to go out dancing with two other couples. It sounded like fun. I had heard that my friend Mandy and her husband Jonathan love to dance. They take lessons and dance about once or twice a week. They often attended dances with Annie and Bruce, the other couple.
  I really wanted to go, but I was a little nervous. The dance lessons that I took 20 some odd years ago would not help me. C and I have danced a little mostly in the living room or in the kitchen. We would be a pair of real novices.
  We hurried through the last of our errands and dressed for the dance. I wasn't quite sure what to wear so I put on a pair of dark blue jeans with a black turtleneck and a red velvet jacket with sequins and beads. I figured this would be good middle ground as I didn't know how dressed up the other ladies would be. We got in the car and headed off.
   Mandy, Jonathan, Annie and Bruce were going to eat at a restaurant where the dance was being held. We arrived late after they had finished eating. The dancing hadn't started yet so we all sat around the table and talked while C and I had a bite. It was a lot of fun.
  After dinner the women went to the hall where the dance was while the men waited at the table for the check to be brought. I knew that I was in the company of some serious dancers. They had arrived early and reserved a table. They had also packed. They brought dance shoes,two small freestanding fans and towels. Mandy and Annie put on their dance shoes. I sat there hoping that C and I wouldn't look too silly.
  The men came and joined us. We went to get our hands stamped and settled down at the table. Then the music started. It was big band and standards, my favourite music. Even if we made complete fools of ourselves, at least we would enjoy the music.
  We sat at our table for a couple of songs and watched. I was starting to feel better. The couples dancing were all ages and skill levels.There was one couple that were clearly either professional ballroom dancers or very experienced amateurs. They looked like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to me. There were some elderly people and a younger couple doing an energetic Lindy (I think). The was a woman wearing an elaborate green St Patrick's Day hat and a woman wearing an understated tiara who was celebrating her 97th birthday. C and I were not going to be out of place.
  Everybody got up to dance. The first dance was a waltz. I am grateful that C is a patient person. I've played enough music to know how to count 3/4 time. My challenge is that I have to follow C and I'm not the best follower when it comes to dancing. Several times we had to stop so I could get sorted out. The other challenge is that I was also more than a little stiff. Poor C must having felt like he was dancing with a surf board. I'm so used to having to be very controlled and careful in public that it's difficult to just be loose. Even with the challenges I was having a wonderful time. We danced for several songs.
  Then C and I took a break. We both knew that dancing was good exercise, but we didn't know how much. I now knew why most of the women wore dresses and skirts. It's cooler. I made a note that if we got to do this again, I would wear a skirt. We watched the other couples dancing on the floor. There was plenty of room and everyone was having a good time.
  When the band took a break we chatted a bit. I didn't get a few of the jokes, but no one seemed to mind. C and I hadn't been out with other couples in a very long time. I had forgot how much fun it could be. I also got better acquainted with Annie and Bruce. I knew them from church and we talked a little there, but this was a much different setting.
   The band started up again and we danced. As time went on I started to loosen up. I reminded myself that I was in a large city. No one was going to come up to me at work on Monday morning and say anything to me about how I was dancing. (I worked mostly in small towns where nothing is private.) If I wanted to show off a little I could. No one was going to criticise, comment or even care. I really needed to shed the "if you can't do it well don't do it at all" attitude. It wasn't about perfect form, it was all about having some fun and enjoying the music.
  I hadn't realised that it was close to the time C and I usually go to bed. I wasn't quite ready to leave yet. The dance was going to end in about 30 minutes anyway so we stayed to the end and danced to the last song.
   The others packed up their bags and we all put on our coats. I thanked them for the invitation and told them we would like to join them again. We were welcome anytime.
   We parted company in the dance hall and went  to our cars. The snow had turned into ice on the roads while we were all dancing. The road conditions didn't dim our cheer. It was a good night.