Ask Me To Dance

“I finally asked you to dance on the last slow song “

I remember being a teenager, being at a dance, and spending far too much time and energy wishing a certain boy would ask me to dance.  When he did, I found myself wishing like hell he’d asked me earlier in the night so that we could have shared many more dances together.

Life’s like that a lot, and I’ve been both parties: the one leaning against the wall, waiting to be asked to dance, as well as the one working up the nerve to ask.  From where I stand right now, my message in both instances is don’t wait.  Don’t “waste the pretty” standing around hoping someone will notice you, realize your worth, love you the way you deserve to be loved, etc.  Likewise, when contemplating going after something you really want, don’t let fear hamper your timing.  Instead, imagine what it would feel like to get what it is you want….and imagine getting it sooner rather than at some hypothetical “right time.”

Of course I know this is easier said than done.  This is a message for me as much as anyone else.  But I do know this to be true: the chemistry of a good dance to a great song with the perfect partner is really something.  But when you know the lights are about to come up and this will be the last song played, it’s a little bittersweet knowing you could have been feeling that way all night and not just for that four minute song.   And by the way…I’m not really talking about dancing.