Friday, December 6

[gottawonder]

Today I am grateful for:

My sweetie got a bunch of important things done this morning.

I went into town with him to pick up the hose that we need to do in-floor heating in the basement, and we took in a ton of recycling that's been piling up for months.

We brought all that home, and I convinced (not very nicely) my sweetie that we should go see a band in town that evening. I've had kind of a downer week, thinking a lot about death (because of several family members having health issues), and feeling like I don't have a lot of fun anymore. Just a lot of responsibility.

I felt like if we were organized, I could ride River (the barn is part way to town), change clothes at the barn and go to the band. I had a decent ride on River, who is still acting distracted somewhat, but again I got good responsiveness after working for awhile. I think he's not able to run around in the corral right now, because it's icy, so he's a little excited about getting to move on nice footing in the arena.

The good news is, they were an amazing band (Punch Drunk Caberet, and they have videos on YouTube),at a small, intimate local venue, and I danced with strangers, and then I got my sweetie to dance, and it involved lots of clapping along with the band, and sometimes singing with the band, and "WOOOOOO-ing" at the band at the top of your lungs. I had a blast, and I think my sweetie had fun too. I know we have to keep working hard on the house, but dammit, do we have to spend every day of his days at home either picking up stuff, talking to the bank, talking to tradespeople, or working? I'm tired of being alone a lot, working conscientiously on taking care of our animals and our home, without also having fun at least one or two days a week.

I MISS dancing! I LOVE dancing! I love having fun where you jump up and down and yell at the band and sweat and get that great endorphin surge. I used to clubs with my friends and dance all night, and it wasn't about drinking or picking up men, it was about dancing, and being in the moment.

This was also a really mixed group, as in some young people, but also some pretty elderly folks. There were even a couple of cowboy types there, a bearded hermit sat at our table (free seating, and I talked with him, he seemed pretty nice). I danced with an older guy in steampunk dress, and a woman in wonderful boots who looked like she might be in her late '60's. There was one REALLY heavy woman, who got up and danced with her friends, joked with the band, and it made me so happy that she didn't let her weight interfere with having a good time. This little local theater is a real gem. It has theater productions, local bands, and lots of eclectic music that you would never hear otherwise. There is a fairly dedicated core of people who come to this theater, and it might only be about 200 people, and I think it's become a community. I'd like to be part of that community.

I am an odd mix of introversion, where I seem to need time to myself sometimes, but I can have big extroversion moments, which is actually sort of different because I was dancing among strangers who seemed really open and accepting and varied.

Anyhow, we had fun, and sometimes we just have to remember to LIVE. Not work or try to be productive all the damn time, or even do more than just sit at home reading at night. To go out and dance and yell and laugh with strangers, and be joyful for a few hours.