I had an absolutely amazing weekend and I just needed to share it with you because I am so grateful for my life right now.

The weekend started off with cleaning the dance studio Friday afternoon before work. My bosses came in halfway through my removal of dust bunnies and asked me if I was teaching the ballet class early Saturday morning (early by dancer standards is 9:15am). I told them yes and their response was that I could leave an hour earlier than the rest of the staff that day, 1pm instead of 2pm. As if getting out early wasn’t good enough, it meant that I would be able to make a luncheon for more than just coffee at the end of the meal. Gavin’s sister is recently engaged with the wedding coming up next August. Weddings are always exciting and the love that is outpoured for the couple is awesome. I definitely didn’t want to miss anything I was invited to by the family.

Sunday was a competition at the Renaissance Hotel in Woodbridge with three other Arthur Murray studios. The students had a great time and danced really well. I was so proud of their dedication, hard work, and enthusiasm. Then came the professional show dance competition. I dance two routines, a swing with Luis and a quickstep/samba with my regular partner Kennedy. Luis and I won!!! Our routine was flawless and we got a standing ovation from everyone there. Such a great feeling!

Monday was back to work at the studio, with a little bit of a schedule change for me. My entire afternoon was taken up by a teaching exam. Yes, 3 hours of dancing, technique and theoretical discussions to be officially certified to teach 12 dances at the full bronze level (our school uses the medalist system: associate bronze, full bronze, associate silver, full silver, gold. bronze, silver and gold are broken down into 4 sub levels to help track student progress, give them goals, and teach skills appropriate to their level of movement.)  I passed and got some really good feedback and comments from the adjudicator. Kennedy’s birthday was also Monday, so we had a ton of cake brought in from his students and parents.

And to cap off a long weekend, Tuesday two of my students brought me little presents because they had been thinking about me – a couple bumper stickers which will be going into my footlocker with my others (kind of a functional traveling scrapbook of my life) and a pack of apple cider donuts from a local farm that I love.

Life is good and I can’t wait to see what else the week has in store for me. <3