Bellyaching!

The bellydancing part of my life is in flux right now. My favorite teacher has come down with a mysterious illness (so mysterious she is not even sure what it is yet) so that she had to cancel her classes indefinitely. I love her classes because she is so encouraging that she makes everyone feel like a great dancer. And we are all beginners!

Yesterday I just found out my second favorite teacher is going on sabbatical for an indefinite amount of time as her work schedule has her running ragged.

Alright, illness, work, come on, give me a REAL excuse!

Just kidding. I do love these people and appreciate them more than just as teachers. They are very giving special people and it is too bad they can't teach now. I do feel a little selfish and guilty about my current feelings of desertion over them leaving since I am a "teacher" too (in a way) and I know how important it is to balance giving my time to "students" and to living a balanced life for me.

Meantime I am bored with the classes I have been taking elsewhere I originally signed up to supplement the first teacher's.

Arghhhh. So now Wednesday night is free and nary a good class to take.

On a positive note the Bellydance Intensive is next weekend where there will be nonstop classess and I bet by the end I will be begging for mercy. Hopefully that will give me enough of a fix to last a while. Afterward, depending on what I am doing in my professional life, I may sign up elsewhere on other nights.

This bellydance shell game has me thinking about my weight loss meetings that I lead... Lately I have been missing quite a few due to a trip back east to Syracuse, now Labor Day weekend in California, next weekend's intensive, the Jewish High Holidays coming up in a few weeks and soon, Michele's wedding. Not that I claim to be the Queen Leader of the Universe, but the members make it known how much they miss me when I am not there. It is concerning that some of them are relying on my leadership so much that when I am not there, things fall apart! That makes me feel terrible. But with as many meetings as I am leading, it is inevitable that if I want to live a full life (and my family live in another state), I will be missing my weekend members the most.

So this has made me think about my bellydance hobby again and how I shouldn't stem my bellydance participation on one teacher or another. Yes I am sad about my teacher's inability to teach right now and more importantly her health, but really I should be looking at this as an opportunity to try something new and to learn some new tricks. How sad would it be to stop any hobby just because someone else quits?

This reminds me of my weight loss journey: I started my recent one with my best friend and 20 pounds into it, she decided she was quitting because the scale stopped moving (temporarily). I kept going and I am glad I did.

And working out too: I had a workout buddy when I was getting back into working out around the time I was losing my weight and she quit on me after a few months. How sad it would have been for me to quit too.

So I guess this is the time when our dedication to our pursuits are tested. I am hoping that during the intensive next weekend I will be able to meet some inspiring knowledgeable teachers whose class times mesh well with my schedule. Let's hope.

Meantime I will shimmy on.