Today I Danced

I was having a quiet Friday morning, as most of my mornings tend to be.  Darrel and Ray were out making a pre-snow run and I was home alone doing what I do.  I randomly selected an album to listen to while getting a few chores out of the way.  I walked away from the turntable as Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s in need of love” started to play and I felt the need to move.  My norm is to shimmy and shake when music is playing, especially when home alone, but this time it seemed different.  With eyes closed, I danced the cha-cha-cha. With a heavy heart I danced as though on a mission.  I danced for my mother-in-law and Aunt Adele, both in hospice care.  I danced a prayer of healing for nephew Malik in the ICU.  With a big lump in my throat and tears streaming, I danced in remembrance of the many who have recently transitioned.   I felt myself slipping down the hole of despair where all that is unfair, unjust, and wrong with the world lives. In deep concentration, I kept dancing.  I did a little hop-turn number and surprised myself by staying on the beat.  I declare I heard remnants of Kimwana’s laughter and her ‘aww Auntie.’  That caused me to chuckle to myself.   My thoughts then turned to memories of some of my dad’s funny moments. Now I was laughing out loud. My heaviness lifted as I continued to move to the music..  My solo cha-cha-cha turned into a celebratory dance. I danced for my Mother, Cousin Virginia, Mr. Bubby, and all of the cherished elders in our life. I danced appreciation for our beautiful, bountiful family, for the new life on the way, for our wealth of friends, our communities, and my various tribes.  I began to acknowledge God’s blessings big and small and I danced for all of the possibilities yet to come.

Through the timespan of an album playing on a turntable, I grieved with the heartbreak of what was and I found peace by celebrating what is. Today I danced … and I stayed on the beat!

Amanda ❤️

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels; Thumbnail photo by Fillipe Gomes from Pexels