WINNING ;)

The Brookdale Dazzlers with their choreographer (right middle)

Yesterday was just one of those really satisfying days. In the morning, I got some work done.  In the afternoon, I went to Brookdale Retirement Home where the "Brookdale Dazzlers" (a senior dance group) were doing a performance.  I thought these must be relatively younger seniors if they were a dance group, but no - most used walkers.  I really didn't know what to expect when I saw that, but they were GREAT!  Everyone was laughing and smiling the whole time.  They started out by coming down the aisle (walkers and all) to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" in crazy colored wigs and GIGANTIC colored sunglasses.  They boogied their way up to the front of the room and then sat down in their assigned chairs except for the youngest in the group - a 67 year old man who could still stand without problem.  The next song was Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and they switched out of their other costumes and donned military looking hats and little plastic bugles.  They did 7 songs in total - each one required a quick change (where staff would assist them).  While they didn't get up much from the chairs, they danced with their arms and their eyes and got the audience involved.  One of the real spitfires was a 93 year old lady who had me grinning ear to ear. 

Dancing to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

Overall, it was such a treat.  They go around to different nursing/retirement centers around Charlotte to perform and I'm sure those residents enjoy it just as much as I did.  (The reason I was there is because I'm writing a story on them).

From there I stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's for a little bit and worked on a few things before heading to Quail Hollow Middle School where I teach a dance club twice a month.  This week I taught them swing and my friend Whitney taught some line dancing. We all had a delightful time, and I definitely got my daily workout in!  One little girl, in the end, came up to me and said, "I want to take you home with me Miss Lauren.  You can come be my auntie!"  It was ADORABLE. 

After leaving there I went to Taylor's new house (which has practically no furniture) to bring him the TV I used to have in my dorm, along with a few various other items.  He was so excited, even though he doesn't have cable yet.  After we got everything situated, we played some poker with the cards I brought him - Texas Hold'Em.  I had to be reminded how to play, but once I was, I totally got it.  Our bet was that if he won, he got one Beanie Baby (you know, those stuffed animals that were so popular in our youth - I still have a couple left and for some reason, he wanted one).  If I won, he was to take me to see a movie.  Now, you must realize, this was a very unlikely bet for me to win because Taylor used to play poker for big money in college and funded much of his study through his poker winnings.  He's also so good at magic card tricks that I after a couple rounds, I started always shuffling and dealing because I was skeptical.  But after he took most of my chips with literally NOTHING, I decided to get brave and bluff him just as he bluffed me. In the last hand, I had only had one pair (of 6s) and the other card in my hand was a queen.  Taylor kept raising and I kept calling.  Finally, he went all in.  When I put in an equal number of chips, I had two left.  Then we flipped our hands and - I WON!  He also had a pair of 6s, but his other card was a 7, so I won.  It was hysterical to see his face when he realized I'd beaten him in poker.  I took a picture on my phone to document my glory. lol

After that we went out on the back porch to see if we could see the moon, as it had been very cool looking as I was driving over there.  Unfortunately, with his wooded backyard and clouds, we couldn't find it.  We stood on the railing and still didn't see it, then Taylor realized it would be very easy to climb on the roof from there.  So he climbed up and it did look very easy (and it's a 1 story house), so then he came back to where I was and helped me up.  We sat on the roof ridge for a while, looking at the stars, looking for the moon (to no avail) and watching various animals wander through the area (like deer).  It was an unbelievably warm day/night and the breeze felt like a Florida in wintertime breeze.  It was so nice - especially since the last time I sat on the roof of a house was probably on the roof of our house in Miami when I was about 8. 

After that we played some big band music and danced around the living room and I showed him some of the moves I'd taught the Quail Hollow kids that night.  Then I started singing (because I felt like it) and he said, "Have you taken voice lessons?" I said 'No, can you tell?' haha  But he said he liked my voice, and asked me to sing more. 

It was just a really fun day - so much laughter and joy and good weather to boot.  Today is looking unfortunate in the weather department, but it is still rather warm out, despite the wind and overcast skies.