Small things

I had a good Saturday night dancing. My confidence wasn't high when I got there, but after a while I managed to relax and tune in better than I have in a few weeks - because all my dances were good, but most of all because of a long session with a favourite partner who really likes and values the way I dance (the feeling's mutual). An evening when I felt better at the end than at the beginning. I'm getting better at knowing when this will be true and when I should just stay in.

I've almost got rid of the annoying little quirk I developed at least a year ago, in which my trailing foot would turn over sometimes at the ankle when coming out from behind the standing foot, especially at certain angles, or when in a hurry. It's a strange little thing, like an ornament gone wrong. I think it started in a canyengue class, when I struggled at first with the different embrace and the pivotless crosswise progression. I quickly stopped doing it in the original context, but then it hid somewhere in my nervous system and kept coming up at odd moments. A few weeks ago I moved it to the top of my hit-list. Stopping it seemed like a small, achievable goal that would give me a boost. It's inefficient and ugly and there's no reason at all why I would ever want to do it on purpose. And on Saturday night I kept feeling it wanting to happen and just not happening.

It's a small thing, but it's good.

Then today I met up with Puddock and some other knitters at the Knit Roast. We sat in the sun on a lovely Autumn day, knitting, chatting, and admiring her baby. He gurgled and squeaked and responded when I pulled faces at him, and generally seemed delighted to be in such a wonderful world.