email Cynthia

Hi! A dear friend once told me:

Find your passion
then follow it with all your heart!

Seems simple, right? It's obvious my passion is writing. When one of my best friends quoted the above, though, I wasn't writing. Family situations had taken over my life and my ability to write, and I hadn't finished, or even begun a book for a couple of years. As a result, her advice hit a brick wall.

At least I thought it did. The picture to the right is evidence of the passion I found. No, no, it's not the guy. (Sheesh!) It's dancing! Ballroom dancing to be precise.  I started taking lessons as a way to exercise. As you can probably tell from the photo, working out and exercising aren't exactly number one on my list of priorities. But I hit a time in my life where I knew I had to do something to improve my health, so I chose dancing. I have always liked to dance. I figured if I chose something I liked, it wouldn't seem like exercise (yuk) and I'd stick with it.

I found dancing, and yes, I know what you're thinking. I walked into the studio and knew the moment I stepped onto the dance floor that I'd found my "something". That's not quite true. Oh, ballroom dancing is my grand passion, make no mistake, but it didn't happen immediately. Since I'm not young and skinny, I was a little reluctant. I was afraid I'd make a fool of myself. Plus, I haven't danced with a man who wasn't my husband in years! The first time I stepped into frame with my instructor, my mother screamed in my head: "What are you doing with that man--that young man!"

I don't need to explain that last statement. You've seen Dancing with the Stars. You know what the dancers look like. Well, my instructor was no different: young, charming, handsome, and of course an excellent dancer. I enjoyed moving to the music almost immediately, but it took me four or five lessons to really relax and enjoy it. Then I was hooked.  I would rather dance than almost anything else, and if I had the money, I'd dance every day, and compete, and wear the beautiful gowns, and travel--

Oh! That brings me to another passion: traveling. The picture was taken in July of 2006 in Verona, Italy. Yep, I got to dance AND travel. The photo was taken right after my Waltz solo with Conor, one of my instructors. Those masks are genuine Venetian masks, bought the day before in Venice! Yes, part of the competition was sightseeing in Venice, Italy. What a fabulous city. If you've never been, you must go. If you've been, then you understand. (More on my love of traveling later.)

Ballroom dancing served me in many ways: I lost weight, gained stamina and loosened up some inhibitions, but the real thing ballroom dancing gave me was myself. While struggling through those life situations, I had lost my ability to express myself, to emote, especially to feel joy. Now, I feel joy every moment I'm on the dance floor, and I will always be grateful to ballroom dancing for that.

So, here's a big thank you to those who helped me find myself, the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Texas and to the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Minnesota. Y'all rock my world.

Thanks for stopping by. Drop in anytime.

See ya soon,

Cynthia

Warning: Photos of me dancing, watching dancing, thinking about dancing and thinking about watching dancing will appear on this website at random intervals. ☺ 

FYI: The picture to the right is my first dance of the first day of my first competition. That's not happiness on my face, that's sheer terror!