October 1999

My friends have been trying to get me to go to a West Coast Swing Dance Club to see how much fun this type of dance can be. I finally made it to the club and was amazed at how much fun people were having! I love all types of music and this type of dance adapts to blues,jazz, rock and roll etc. There were lessons every Sunday afternoon since West Coast Swing is a dance that takes time to learn. Once you have the basics down you can spin and turn with your partner and feel like you really can dance! I was hooked. I took lessons every
Sunday and after the lessons there was a dance where we could practice what we had learned. I have made some great friends, male and female. Many of my classmates were in my age bracket and single so we became a group of friends who got together outside of dance for the holidays and always had time to dance. The Swing club had a Christmas dinner dance and New Years dance where we all dressed to the nines and had a ball!
This is a great way to meet people and not really have to date to get to know the opposite sex. We all had a common goal to improve ourselves in dance and have fun at the same time. I would recommend dance lessons to everyone. There are many places and types of dance one can learn from Salsa to ballroom. I never considered myself a dancer but I found my nitch as an intermediate dancer who didn’t need to be the best but was able to follow my partner and enjoy the dance. It gave me a lot of confidence and also does wonders for your figure. Dancing works every part of your body and you don’t realize you are exercising because it feels so great!
Dance is an expression of ourselves that comes out when the music starts and makes us feel we can do anything we put our minds to. I still dance today and love it!
Take a chance and feel the freedom!

DIARY OF A MC”BRIDE”

September 12, 1997 D-DAY
Today I went to Court for the first time in my life. It was a frightening and humiliating experience. I felt like a little girl being sent to the principle’s office for misbehaving although my purpose had nothing to do with that. In reality I was there to go before a judge to get a divorce. My husband of 26 plus years and I had a disagreement. He thought it was ok to be married and be with other women and I disagreed. The only solution to save what little dignity I had left was to end the marriage and take back my life.
Here I am in my late 40’s starting over again. My two children are grown and finishing college and I am so proud of them! This is our greatest achievement as husband and wife. Where do I begin? I have been out of circulation since I was 18 so the dating scene is virtually an unknown to me. I am not ready to date and have been feeling so lost. My children are busy with their own lives and I know I need to find Anna again. Where did she go? I had always been strong and adventuresome when I was young, a bit of a tomboy and ready to take any challenge. Anna got lost in the world of wife and mother and needs to find that girl again.
January 1998 Hiking 101
Purely by accident one of my co-workers mentioned he was taking a Wilderness Training Course and jokingly asked if I wanted to do it too. I didn’t hesitate and said ‘Yes”! I needed an outlet and had always loved the outdoors. This was the challenge I had been looking for; hiking in the mountains in the dead of winter! Talk about the ultimate adventure! Thus began 10 weeks of training with hikes every other weekend. My first 15 mile hike up Mt. Wilson was our test to weed out those who are not meant to climb.

We started out at 8:00 am carrying our packs. I admired my new hiking boots as I followed behind the more experienced hikers of our group. We expected to make the top by noon. The switchbacks were steep and my breathing was heavy as I ascended. I had a slight cold so I had taken an antihistamine which I found out later was not a good idea since the air is thinner and makes it harder to get oxygen.. A few people we passed on the trail said my pack looked too heavy but being the novice of the group I just assumed I had packed the essentials that were mentioned in my training manual and was following the proper procedures.
It was now 10:30 am, we are not at the top yet and my knees are starting to swell and lock up as in not bending! This is a first! I have never had that happen before! I apparently was carrying too much weight in my pack for a first hike and my knees decided to protest. The leaders were great; they had seen this happen before and off loaded my backpack and gave me hiking poles to help take some of the pressure off my non bendable knees. I was so embarrassed. I had been exercising all my life, active in sports and jazzercise never dreaming I would have a problem climbing a hill, even if it was an

Enormous hill that I could not see the end of. Nevertheless I was bound and determined to finish the climb and come down that mountain like everyone else with the exception of course of being anti flexible. I made it to the top and enjoyed a brief lunch break knowing that I still had to go down that mountain…It was time to descend and I was hoping the journey might be easier but alas that was not to be. Have you ever tried walking stiff legged down a flight of stairs? Well if you add on a lumpy bumpy trail with pain shooting up your leg every time you put your foot down you would have an idea of what it felt like. We were supposed to take breaks here and there but by the time I made it to the break area the break was over so I just kept ouching down the hill. We made it to the bottom by 5:00 pm and I was never so happy to sit in a car although I needed major assistance to get in and out. It appears that when you stop the motion your knees stiffen up and you have to coax them into an upright or sitting position for about a week. Needless to say I have the utmost respect and admiration for the hikers of the world. They are by far the strongest people I have ever met. I did go on to complete my training course: bouldering in Joshua Tree, taking numerous day hikes, climbing many mountains in snow and warm weather. We did an entire weekend camp in the High Sierras using no heat but that of our own bodies to keep us warm. My leader told me after my first hike with knee problems that he didn’t think I would be back and was pleasantly surprised to see me continue. I was determined to meet the challenge as I was one of the few over 45 in the pack. I came away from the experience feeling strong and confident. I felt if I could climb mountains I could accomplish anything.

Do you remember when we watched American Bandstand on Saturday to watch the latest dance moves and our favorite dancers on the show? The music would inspire us and we would copy the steps at our next high school dance and be so cool!

Wouldn’t it be fun to get out on that dance floor again? It’s not too late. You can learn West Coast Swing, Country two step, Salsa, East Coast Swing and even Tango. There are great clubs to go to throughout the United States that give lessons and dancing afterwards. A partner is not needed for lessons; you rotate every few minutes to a new partner. Whether you are single or married this type of atmosphere is very comfortable,
a great way to socialize, make new friends and learn some great new steps. Dancing for two or three hours is one of the best forms of exercise one can imagine. While you are lost in the music and feeling the beat your body is being rewarded with new strength, flexibility and increased lung power! This is a total body workout while having so much fun you forget all about the health benefits.

Yours truly started dancing at the tender age of 48 without ever taking a dance lesson. I was nervous at first not knowing what to expect but once I began taking lessons I was hooked. I met a wonderful group of people who remain some of my dearest friends to this day. Dancing encompasses all ages and so many types of music. We all have special songs that take us back to moments in our lives that are special. Expressing ourselves through the music with dance is an extra bonus and will be most rewarding.

If you enjoy a challenge and love music give this a try…it will be one of the best experiences you will ever have.

Check your local dance studios and the internet to find clubs that are near you.
A list of OC clubs and resources to check out:

• orange county west coast swing dance club
• Jerry Dawson dance lessons
  Jerry was my first dance teacher, great guy!

Country Western lessons and open dance :Montana’s 657 W Arrow Hwy, San Dimas, CA 91773 (909)592-2211
Picture Christian dance at Top Cats in Placentia every 3rd Sat of the month. All types of dance with west coast swing and country lessons.
michaelsloat@yahoo.com

westcoastsdc@yahoo.com West Coast Swing dance and lessons every Sunday mix of country
and latin music also.

We women who have reached our 50th birthday have probably started what is known as perimenopause. This is the beginning of our body slowing down its’ estrogen production as we reach the end of our child bearing years. For a lucky few, the slow down is gradual and the change of life is not a big deal. For most of us however we do notice definite differences in our bodies, emotions and all around attitude!

The average age of menopause is 51, it can occur in our 40’s or later 50’s as well. Each of us reacts differently to this stage of life. Some of us suffer through hot flashes and night sweats which can be embarrassing and downright uncomfortable. It is hard to concentrate at work when you feel like you are on fire on the inside and can’t put it out! Sleep deprivation can occur when you wake up soaked for the second time and wonder how your body can do this and still fight you on losing that extra 5 pounds!

A great source for information on menopause is www.knowmenopause.com. There are experts that talk to you about what is happening to your body, how you can take steps to lesson the physical discomfort and whether you want to choose a natural remedy or hormone therapy treatment. There are question and answer discussions as well as testimonials by women who have experienced the different symptoms and what they did to ease the discomfort. There is also information for women who have had a hysterectomy and types of hormone therapies they can use.

We all know that our emotional state can cause havoc when our hormones are running amuck! This can be an intense time for many of us but know that this too shall pass and we do get through it. We women are surprisingly strong and resourceful; hardly the weaker sex… How many men would get through childbirth ladies?

This is not the end of our lives but a new beginning! We no longer have to worry about getting pregnant! We will save a fortune in feminine products! We are free!

If you have any helpful hints please click the “Leave a Comment” link below and tell us about your experiences. Knowledge is power!

Ladies:

We have reached a new phase in our lives. Our children are grown for the most part and we now have a chance to set some new goals.

If we have become single, we may be entering the world of dating after 15 or 25 years and Ladies: The World has changed!

The dating procedure has become Internet based which moves along much faster than our past style. We get more initial information about our future dates and even pictures before we actual talk to them! We feel relatively safe connecting over the airwaves until it is time to actually meet the man in our computer. Of course we can discover that the profile that sounded so great doesn’t really match up to the man we finally come face to face with and the picture is from the 1970’s ( the gold chain should have given us a clue).

To be fair, we ladies are not totally honest either. We wear black to make us appear slimmer and have the picture taken far enough away to eliminate some of our well earned wrinkles. After all, both genders want to make a good first impression..

Have any of you ladies out there experienced some great or disastrous dates you would like to share? How about sending some Do’s and Don’ts of dating that you have discovered?

Our sisterhood experiences could help other single ladies in their pursuit of that special man.