If you had five other lives to lead, what would you do? Don't overthink it -- just jot it down.

1. Belly dancer
2. Journalist
3. Bookstore owner
4. UU Minister
5. Novelist

These are in no particular order, by the way. :-)

I took a tribal workshop today -- slow movement and combinations. It was fabulous, though I am now sore in places I had no idea I could be sore in. Who knew there were muscles that could ache under my pelvic bones? It was the first class I've taken that wasn't taught by Yasmina, although that sounds more impressive than it is, considering how new I am. Anyway, I really liked the teacher -- Terri Walden -- and appreciated it being a small enough class that she was willing to walk around and help people do the moves properly. Again, though, it was a class without mirrors and that really drives me batty. Part of the reason I'm having a hard time gaining confidence in my ability to dance is that I have neither a mirror nor a teacher to tell me if I'm moving right. The classes I'm taking with Yasmina through Mesa Parks & Rec are just too full for her to do the same thing there, and maybe it's not her style anyway. I'm going to talk to her about it a bit at my next class and see what she says.

I'm really enjoying belly dancing. It's probably not obvious to anyone watching -- remember, warrior belly dancer face here -- but I like the way it feels in my body. The movement feels truer to who I am than any other dance I've attempted, which again, sounds more impressive than it really is, because the only other things I've done are jazz/tap and gymnastics. Well, and yoga, but that's different, not really dance. I am very interested in being more serious in my approach -- more classes, maybe and maybe breaking away from the Parks & Rec classes. I have a secret wish (that won't be so secret now) to be part of a tribal troupe. That would require some serious weekly practice and I'm sure more than one class a week.

I'm worried about whether or not I'll have the time -- I've been writing a lot in my morning pages about where my priorities lie right now. Income-producing activity aside, what I'd like to do is write, priestess in my coven and community, get more serious about belly dancing and learn to knit. How do I fit those things in with being a full-time mom and having a job? It makes me feel all whiny. I love my kids and husband to death, but there are days when I fantasize about how my life would be if I had neither.

Previous | Next