Waltzing

Just a short little post to say I had waltzing lessons this week. In front of many people. 

My significant other [1] has mentioned wanting to learn to dance many times, and so finally, I gave in. I asked one of our mutual friends, who happens to be a ballroom dancer, to teach us how to waltz. Nothing fancy, nothing groundbreaking, just your basic 1-2-3 waltz. 

So that's how we found ourselves one Thursday evening in the living room, sofas pushed against the wall, friends watching (and threatening to film us "for posterity," though that probably really meant "for the lolz on the internet"), tripping over each other's feet, and trying to count to three. 

After a bit, our friend declared it was time for a blindfold, so I could work on not looking at my feet and we could find out how good our sightless communication was. And bless their extroverted, people-loving heart, our dance instructor brought out the blindfold with a sort of apologetic-but-gleeful look of "How tricky this is going to be!" [2] And yes, I was apprehensive. Most of us are terribly reliant on our sight, and the thought of being without it, however briefly, is cause for discomfort.

But the blindfold? Was actually remarkably helpful. 

Remember that thing where I have trouble making eye contact? And that other thing about overstimulation? Being blindfolded cut all of that out. Much as I love J, making eye contact while trying to learn a new skill was challenging. Getting all the visual feedback from our friends sprinkled around the perimeter of the room was a lot to process. 

So for this introvert, dancing blindfolded was easier. All I had to do was count to 3, hold onto J, and not fall off my heels. 

xo, 
Devo


[1] I would have typed "SO," but I've watched too much Agents of Shield, and SO means "supervising officer."

[2] In my re-constructed, everybody comes out slightly British in their speech patterns.