A couple of weeks ago, I went to a tea dance.
Tea dances. Remember those? For those unfamiliar with the concept, tea dances, at least where I'm from, were held at clubs open from 3 pm to 8 pm, where we would literally dance the afternoon away to hit songs of our time.
I used to frequent tea dances in my late teens in the 90s. My girlfriends and I would look forward to hitting the dance floor almost every Saturday. So, when we went to the tea dance recently, we were on the dance floor for two hours straight, dancing, singing, and laughing the whole time.
It was fun.
Remember Having Fun?
When did we forget to have fun?
I speak for myself when I say this, and maybe some would relate. I think adulthood made me prioritise juggling the different roles and responsibilities as a wife, mom, daughter and employee over fun. As a result, I rarely make time for fun stuff for myself; it's often fun with the family or fun at work.
Don't get me wrong; I have no intention of abandoning my responsibilities and partying every weekend like it's 1999.
Cue Prince.
Sorry, I couldn't resist adding music to this post 😬.
Anyway, as I grow older, the concept of fun has changed. It's no longer about partying hard, or at least like I used to. Instead, I'd love to go to a concert, maybe go for a croaking session at a karaoke joint or even get away for a weekend island holiday with my closest friends. You know, to take a break from the norm and let loose.
I suppose where I am going with this is that the short visit to the tea dance has reminded me that it's ok to live a little.
It's ok to carve some fun time for yourself.
"It's not death that man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live." - Marcus Aurelius.
Don't get too bogged down with the to-do list, the schedules, and the deadlines we need to keep.
If fun is going to the movies, having dinner with some friends, or going for a hike in the wilderness, then do that. Having fun is essential for our well-being. For me, at least, that two hours on the dancefloor helped me destress from a chaotic week. I suffered from backache, and my knees were wobbly the whole Sunday from dancing non-stop, but it was so DAMN WORTH IT. I felt much happier and lighter.
So as a reminder to myself and anyone else reading this, let's start dancing again, have fun and live a little.
