Jesse is much better at picking out presents than I am. He has a way of always knowing exactly what I like as well as finding something I'd never think of myself, which keeps the best part of a gift intact - the surprise. This Christmas, he gave me tap lessons.

As you can probably guess from all of the videos of dancing I post on this blog, I love everything about dancing.  I'd taken dance lessons for years when I was younger - ballet, jazz, occasionally hip hop and acrobatics, but tap was by far my favorite and from time to time I'll still practice time steps and wings on our kitchen floor while wearing socks. Luckily, Jesse pays attention. Also, luckily, my mom tends to keep things, so my old tap shoes arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago....and they still fit.

This weekend, I took my first tap class in over ten years. It could have been a disaster. Even though it was an adult class, I pictured myself showing up and being the lumbering dinosaur among a group of young, quick tappers. Or, what if I could remember the rhythm and name of tap steps in my head, but my feet and ankles had aged into unresponsive cement blocks and wouldn't cooperate? Instead, everything turned out perfectly. I was far from the oldest and my feet have a better memory than I do. I can't wait to go back next week.

So, in conclusion - lessons are a fantastic gift and I'm happy to be dancing again. Although no amount of classes will ever make me as good as these tappers, I can at least enjoy watching them for motivation: