Red River

For those of you unfamiliar with Red River, it's a country western dance place. We've gone there a few times over the years. We didn't actually start country dancing until about twelve years ago. It's an experience unlike any other that you will attempt, and you have to be in fairly good physical condition to boot scoot.

Unlike the postage size dance floors in most clubs, country western dancing requires a rather large dance floor. To country dance you have to be in constant motion as you revolve in a circle around the floor. Almost all clubs offer dance lessons, they don't teach you to dance to the beat of the music but certain steps with a lot of twirling, the pace is faster than the old style of boot scooting, especially the twirlers. The couples in which the lady is constantly spinning. They even move faster slow dancing now. Which takes away part of the reason to slow dance--to enjoy the music and closeness. We dance free style even though we've had a couple of lessons. We like to go with the flow of the music.

Generally we dance most of the time we're there, but this time we'd eaten a large meal beforehand, and unfortunately it all went to our feet. My usually fleet footed husband couldn't get the beat going, so we sat out a lot of dances and people watched. (Even with fast dances, you're pretty much connected with your partner when country western dancing. But my feet were like lead too.)

I've often told people that you shouldn't marry anyone unless you've slow danced with them. There is something about moving together to the rhythm of a romantic song that brings out things in people that nothing else can. A certain connection.

But after watching people dance the other night, I'm not so sure now. Some couples moved so smoothly around the floor, that you figured that they had been together for ages. (Ray says these people have gone liquid.) But come the next song, they were with someone else. Then there were those that bumped into practically every other couple on the floor. But they had huge smiles the entire time. One twirled and laughed so hard they danced right off the dance floor. Then bounced right back up and kept dancing, laughing that much harder. Yeah, some of it could have been the alcohol, but the look they shared and the way they held each other indicated that it was more. They honestly seemed to enjoy being with each other.

Ray and I have had people come to our table or us, and tell us how inspired they are watching us together. They never say we're terrific dancers, they usually say that the we looked like we were having a blast together, and that's it apparent how much we care about each other. Most ask how long we've been married and are usually shocked to find out we've been together since we were six. (Not really. hehe) They generally say they hope to be fortunate enough to find someone they can be as happy with as we are. I don't take this compliment lightly. It's one we've gotten quite often over the years, especially when we dance together. To be honest, we love to dance together, and we enjoy doing things together, so I guess it comes out while we're on the dance floor.

Maybe I don't need to rethink the dancing together thing before you marry. It's a great way to have fun and enjoy being in each other's arms. The song that states 'Life's like a dance--you learn as you go' is so true. Maybe this is why we like to dance to the beat of the music instead of a rigid set of steps.

You're not given a handbook at birth or marriage. You bump into a lot of things along the way, and depending on how you handle the bumps sometimes dictates how you handle life. We've learned that sometimes the bumps help us appreciate our lives more, and occasionally sends in a direction we really need to go.

So maybe you do need to dance together to see how each other reacts to life.