I went to the Dance Flurry a couple of weeks ago (!) and I wanted to write a few notes here about the experience, and a little bit of reflection. I hope you'll spare me the indulgence.
A year ago, I was pretty new to the East Coast: I didn't really know people, and while I'd been dancing for a while and I wasn't a bad dancer by any means, but I wasn't quite comfortable in my own skin in big dance events.
This year, many things were different. I'd been to a number of other important regional events: I knew more people, I knew the bands and the callers, I knew the venue, and I knew what to expect.
It was great. I got to dance with friends that I hadn't seen in months. I got to dance to great bands. The callers were top notch, and there was never a shortage of great ways to spend my time.
My motto for the weekend was "you don't have to do everything." Which meant not staying until 1am, just because there was a dance going on; or not showing up at 9am because that's when things started. Prevailing sanity is an amazing thing.
It meant that I didn't hurt myself; I didn't come back from the vacation more tired than I was when I left; and I still had a great time.
It's amazing.