Dear Friends,
Live classes resume next Tuesday!
Hope you are all enjoying your long weekend and staying healthy!
My family and I are away enjoying a week of snow with friends in Colorado. Flying with 4 sets of skis and snowboards, plus all the extra accessories like boots, helmets and warm clothing, means a ridiculous amount of suitcases and bags to travel with in the airport! To make it even more interesting, yesterday, we woke up at 3am for our 6am flight, and we had a short connecting flight where the first plane was inconveniently delayed.
You know you're REALLY delayed and in trouble when the other guests on the plane actually do not exit and let your family get out of the plane first.
We had exactly 11 minutes to get from gate to gate (of course the planes were in different terminals that normally take 15-20 minutes), and let me tell you, running a mile in snow boots, wearing backpacks, and dodging around people, is up there as one of the most ridiculous moments of my life.
I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, but I did neither because I could only focus on not stopping and seriously gasping for breath. When we heard the intercoms saying, "Final boarding call in 4 minutes for Gate 15 and we are closing the doors!" the final sprint happened. We literally arrived within the last few seconds dripping in sweat and let's just say my clothes were damp the entire next flight.
In that moment of relief, I actually told my family that I was really proud of US. That was a true challenging moment that we had to face together, yet had to persevere through individually, and everyone truly rose to the occasion, as ridiculous as it was. It's going to be a great week.
I hope this week you find moments that make you feel alive, bring laughter, and remind you how lucky you are.
Happy 75th Birthday Paula Todd!
We had so much fun singing, laughing, and dancing with Paula Thursday morning in our Black History Month themed Stop Drop and Dance class!
Even though Paula was initially shy and reluctant to celebrate her birthday, Paula’s amazing best friends Marsha Cellar and Cecilia Cruickshank helped to set up this special class and to make sure we recognized Paula’s birthday. They also spoke on the microphone about their lifelong friendship with Paula and it was so touching and emotional to witness.
The microphones hilariously ended up being used multiple times later in our dances and Stop Drop and Dance class officially turned into a Karaoke party!!! At the end of class, we took a group photo and Paula was so thoughtful to gift makeup bags with different positive sayings and messages to everyone.
Thank you Paula for celebrating with us and Happy 75 years young!
Happy Birthdays Eliza and Gina!
The high school cheerleading uniforms came out this past Saturday morning for Eliza Desch and Gina Mazza because they chose the theme “Adult Drill Team” for their Stop Drop and Dance birthdays! It was perfect that their uniforms from 30 years ago were actually red and white because their birthday class happened to fall on Valentine’s Day!
Unfortunately, Gina was unable to make her own birthday class because she came down with the flu a few days beforehand, but we still gave her a few shoutouts and celebrated her anyways!
Thank you to Eliza for adding a special touch by gifting a whistle lanyard to everyone who came, to Jennifer Lee for gifting everyone a rose for Valentine’s Day, to Erin Meyers for decorating with, and even passing out, pom poms to dance with (and she looked amazing fitting into her daughter’s Marin Catholic cheer uniform!), to Jen Gonzalez for encouraging a grieving friend to come to dance and move through the pain, to Stacey Dillon for allowing us to shower her with love after the loss of her husband, Ian, and to everyone who came to class to celebrate Eliza and Gina, and spend Valentine’s Day DANCING together, exactly as we are… imperfectly perfect!
Saluting to Eliza's fabulous birthday party and we missed you Gina!
Donate to Stacey's GoFundMe here
67 and Stronger Than Ever!
Every Wednesday, Debby Strenkofsky has been coming to our 75 minute Strength and Stretch class and last week was an extra special one.
It was Debby's actual 67th birthday and her official last class with us before her double knee replacement surgery on Wednesday, February 25th.
At the beginning of class, Debby shared that she felt like she is the strongest she has ever been in her whole life, right now. With her upcoming surgery, Debby also shared that she has cherished every single class she has been coming to. Debby reminded us how grateful she has been to dance, to lift, to stretch, to move, and we reminded her that she WILL be back with us again!
We read this quote at the end of class (author unknown) and may it also be a reminder to all of you to cherish and be grateful for your wonderful bodies:
"Dear Body,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to experience my life.
Taking me all the places I want to go, to do all the things I want to do.
Thank you for giving me the chance to see, hear, smell, taste, touch and feel so deeply.
Thank you for protecting me.
Thank you for every answer you gave me in my heart and gut.
Thank you for recovering when I pushed you past your limits.
I need you to know that I trust you.
I promise to honor, listen and take care of you.
You are a beautiful, sacred vessel deserving of respect, love and appreciation.
You are my home.
I'm grateful to you.
Thank you body.
I love you body."
Love,
Grace
