Dear Friends,
Thank you, Pelo!
It has been an incredible blessing to teach Stop Drop And Dance since October at Pelo Fitness in San Rafael. Alan Roberts, the owner of Pelo, has been so generous letting us rent his tented parking lot spaces in front of his building, and we have had such a memorable fall, winter and spring dancing in sunshine, rain, and wind! We even added"Life is a Dance" sweaters and LEG WARMERS to our collection because it became a necessity these past few months!
Dancing outdoors at Pelo has been refreshing. Literally refreshing because we got to breathe in fresh air, and figuratively refreshing because we figured out how to dance TOGETHER through the pandemic, in the safest way. Thank you so much, Alan!
The last two classes at Pelo will be Tuesday 6/22 (Happy Birthday Erica!) and Thursday 6/24 at 9:30am!
We will have our usual "One Thorndale Garage" class this Saturday 6/26. However, the following week, I will be taking a vacation to Southern California untilJuly 4th, and I will be back to teach on Tuesday, July 6th!
STAY TUNED on the new Tuesday and Thursday location starting in July, PLUS depending on the success of finding a new space, I plan to test out WEDNESDAY CLASSES for the summer (hopefully!).
Ce-le-brate good times, COME ON!
Yesterday, I attended a wedding for one of my junior high and high school girlfriends, Jennifer Lee, who was a pandemic bride that postponed her 2020 wedding to 2021. The timing of it couldn't have been more perfect with the new June 15th mask-optional-for-vaccinated-individuals announcement, because she had 150 people attend who would have been masked up and spaced out.
She still asked all guests to take a Covid test beforehand, which was a nice safety precaution. And some guests did choose to keep masks on, which is totally understandable.
But otherwise, it was a normal, pre-pandemic wedding. And because we have all been sheltering-in-place and isolating from each other, it seriously felt like I was back in 7th grade and I was at my first dance. My girlfriends and I were SO happy hugging each other, catching up, and you better bet we danced the entire time after dinner! But it wasn't just us. Everyone around us were like 7th graders too. Giddy. Excited. Grateful. SO fun.
What a new appreciation for the simple joys of BEING TOGETHER.
Happy Birthday Jen!
On Thursday, we had an early birthday dance party for Jennifer Lefferts! Jen's daughter,Hana, and son, Max, joined her for the first time, and enthusiastically danced on camera for the majority of class. They got the occasional "tap out" from Jen's matching SPICE besties Susannah and Tanya, but otherwise danced the entire 75 minutes with their mama=). LOVE IT!
Happy Birthday Anna!
On Saturday, we were thrilled thatAnna Gregory came to celebrate her birthday in-person! Anna is back from UCLA for the summer, but during the year, she would joinStop Drop And Dance classes on Zoom with her sorority sisters in the background.So grateful Anna was joined by a supportive crew of dancers- Kirsty, Fiona, Amaya, and her sister Caitlin!
Happy 50th Anniversary!
In addition to celebrating Juneteenth, June 19th was also my parents' 50th anniversary! We had originally booked a special family trip to Singapore and Hainan, but obviously we had to cancel because international travel is still too difficult. Instead, my sister and I decided to book a photographer today and take our first whole-family professional photos to capture this special event, because wow, it's 50 years together!!! Aren't they cute??
Happy Father's Day!
Thank you to all the fathers out there for playing such an important role in our children's lives. I will always remember the things my dad was so passionate about and would do with me, from singing karaoke, to watching homemade 8mm film videos, to riding bikes after dinner. Even now, I love that he proactively hangs out with his grandkids and plays with them. In my opinion, all kids crave respect and quality time from their fathers. Thank you for all you do!
Lastly, Happy 13th Anniversary!
Today is my husband, James, and my 13th wedding anniversary. We met in 1997 as freshman living in the same UCSD dorm. We danced hip hop for 2 years together sophomore and junior year on Team 220 (shh he doesn't like me to tell people that - haha!). We started dating in 2000, and 8 years later, we got married!
Blond tipped hair, life of the party, brilliantly smart, super easy-going, unafraid to speak his mind... that was the guy I knew in college. Add on a refined taste for food and wine now, and he's pretty much the same guy (minus the blond tips). And I'm pretty much the same girl that cries easily in movies, craves movement and fitness, eats excessive amounts of sweets, and loves to play board games.
Communication, compromise, and connection. Marriage is not easy and is not always smooth. But I am grateful for my husband James who I know is always willing to work things out and to keep evolving together.
Have a wonderful week and I hope you can find little or big things to celebrate in your life each day.
Love,
Grace
