Every once in a while fate places us in the path of a life changing moment. These moments can come in the form of something as large as a historical event or as small as a butterfly that lands on the tip of a child’s nose.  My most recent life changing moment came in the form of a dance.

My family and I just moved to the Joplin area as I started a new job with Access Home Health Agency as a Patient Care Representative. During one of my visits to the Area Agency on Aging in Joplin, I learned about the 2009 Snowball Dance that they were organizing.

The agency was in need of another sponsor for the poinsettias and volunteers to work at the dance as a food server. I gladly accepted both offers, and was then told that I should be prepared to dance with some of the guests.  Instantly, my palms became damp and my breathing shallow. 

“Hold it together,” I thought as memories of dancing debacles flashed through my mind. 

I have been married for ten years, and my wife has always expressed a strong desire to take dancing lessons with me. It just seems that I am always too busy to do so. At least that is the excuse that I have always used.

Truthfully, I know that I have two left feet and not enough rhythm to fill a thimble. I would feel extremely sorry for the person that undertook the endeavor of teaching me to dance, and even more sorry for my wife to have to endure the experience. 

The day of the dance came, and I had convinced myself that I would not be summoned from the serving line to literally ‘cut a rug.’ As the guests started arriving, I was very impressed with the level of excitement that flowed through the crowd as they patiently waited for the music to start. Once the formalities were addressed and all were welcomed, the music began and the dance floor instantly filled with eager guests. I’m not sure what I expected, but what I witnessed was incredible.

As I served food to the guests, I was constantly glancing up at the dance floor at the so called ‘Senior Citizens’ as they danced, twirled and laughed to ‘beat the band.’

Their energy level only seemed to increase throughout the course of the dance. 

After all of the guests were served, I stepped to the side to watch the proceedings from afar. I looked on as approximately 35 to 40 couples exhibited dances that I did not even know the name of, much less be brave enough to attempt.

Then I looked out over the guests and noticed quite a few people watching from their tables.

I suddenly realized that they had come to the dance with friends, but were otherwise there alone. They joyfully smiled and laughed as they watched from the fringes. 

It was then that I decided to take a chance and ask one of the ladies to dance. As I approached the first table, I thought that I would ask if any of the ladies would like to dance, they would all shyly say no, and I would then return to my post and sip my sweet tea. That is not what happened at all. 

When I walked up to the first table and asked if any of the ladies would like to dance, three hands shot into the air. I swallowed hard as the reality hit me in the chest. I was going to have to dance now. I reached out to the lady to my right and took her by the hand and led her to the dance floor. Before we reached the dance floor, I turned to her and told her that the only dance that I could even attempt was the Texas Two Step. She said that she could follow if I could lead. And follow she did. She was a fast learner and within a minute she had mastered the steps.

It was then that she looked up at me and I noticed that she had tears in her eyes. My fears were realized. I thought that I had inadvertently injured her and any court in the land would have held me liable and convicted me of “Injury via Premeditated Dancing.”

I paused and asked if she was OK, if I had hurt her. She said that she had been married for 50 years, but had not danced since her husband had passed away twelve years ago. I didn’t know what to say, so I just continued to dance. As we danced, I thought about my wife who had been trying to get me to dance with her for so long. I had never thought about how much I was denying her, and myself, by not taking her into my arms and fulfilling her dream of learning how to dance together.

It was at that moment, that life-changing moment that I decided that I would not let another year pass without taking that first dance lesson with my wife. Looking over the dance floor that day, at all of the couples that had danced together for decades, I thought how wonderful it would be to have that same opportunity with my wife. To look into her eyes as we danced at either the Snowball Dance or the senior prom and experience what these wonderful people before me were experiencing –decades of happiness in each other’s arms.

I do not remember the ladies name that I first danced with, but I will always remember the joy and happiness of the memories that brought the tears to her eyes. I want to thank her for showing me what I was missing, and helping me to realize that it was not too late to seize the day and dance with my wife throughout the decades to come. See you all at the 2010 senior prom.