Nancy Edwards: The Dancing Grandma

AGING OUTRAGEOUSLY

Having gone from dancing in my living room to dancing on national television makes it official: I AM OUT OF THE CLOSET!  I'm tired of all the messages about "AGING GRACEFULLY" and fully intend to live out a mission of showing middle-aged women how to experience the JOY of being oneself.  I'm not interested in talking about when to apply for Social Security or my aches & pains or taking my grandkids to the Science Museum for eight hours. 

I'm simply and wholly unwilling to "fade to grey" and behave properly at all times.  Convention has rarely served me well, probably because it went against my nature.  All we have is NOW, and I won't waste whatever amount of time I have left on the past or the future.  I will NOT take my "place" in line with other senior citizens even though AARP has been mailing me for 12 years!  I will NOT allow wrinkles or thinning skin to keep me from dancing my ass off!  I will NOT agree that NOW is not the prime of my lifetime!  It's taken me 62 years to become this work of art and I prefer to display it.

Oh my...........I wanted to post a recent photo, but obviously had no clue how to make it a modest size!!! Oops.

Dancing June 25, 2012

July 2012 Update

Hi out there everyone.  It's been a long tme since I've posted anything, but I wanted to let you know that I'm doing really well.  My cancer surgery two years ago has lead to some annoying complications, but overall my health is great.  Prior to this, I was a size 4; now I'm a 0.  Keeping my weight from sinking lower is a daily challenge because one thing I lost from the rearrangement of my internal organs is every bit of appetite.  Imagine how, after a Thanksgiving meal when you can't eat one more bite?  I feel that way around the clock every day.

The good news is that, at 68, my dancing and the joy it brings me (and others) continues without skippiing a beat! I've had six clean PET scans in the last two years - a miracle with this deadly cancer!  I took a week-long cruise in February where by day two, I'd become the ship celebrity with my spontaneous, break out anywhere dancing.  I even won the big dance contest.  The highlight of my trip and maybe my life occurred halfway through the cruise.  I heard Michael Jackson music playing in the atruim, the heart of the big ship on the bottom level.  Nine balconies stretch upward from the atrium where thousands of folks hang out, watching the atrium action.

As I entered the atruim dance floor, the ship activity director announced, "The dancing grandma's here; let the party begin!!!"  Everyone applauded.  Suddently there stood in front of me one really huge black man - 6'8" and 400 pounds.  We began boogying soul moves together and a circle formed around us.  Without hestitation, he reached under my armpits and lifted me up over his head, swinging me around!!  Thunderous applause and screaming arose throughout the nine balconies of partiers.

What a night!!!  Coming back to Minnesota after dancing to mostly live Motown bands six hours, seven nights in a row was like skiing in Vail for a week, then coming back to a bunny hill at Buck Hill.  It's months later and I still yearn to repeat this adventure.  As a matter of fact, I've told my daughter and grand daughter that I want to treat them to a cruise next winter.  We're all dancing machines.

Little in my life has brought me such consistent joy and connection with countless other human beings.  Who would've thought that nearing 70 and surviving cancer would find me still doing my "thing" every single week?!  I'm one lucky late-middle-aged woman :)

Guess I've found one way to get here?

OK - after flailing about for ten minutes, I've found my way back to the page where the word "compose" appears.  I also checked my site & saw that my previous post is indeed up, so I'll write a little more now.

 

Having pretty much shut down my Caringbridge site (caringbridge.org/visit/nancyedwards1), I've referred visitors from that site to this one since it's already established.  My notion is that this will be my ongoing site for blogging about any & all things going ahead.  I so enjoyed and was uplifted by writing my heart out during those treacherous months of cancer treatment that continuing to blog seems like a healthy thing to do.  I certainly never intended for this dancing grandma site to turn into anything other that a pure lark, but things have changed for me.  If there seems to be enough interest, I'll post with some regularity.

 

I'm still very much the only "dancing grandma" around these parts.  I feel silly now for having thought that this beloved activity would ever turn into anything other than what it is.  I guess my ego was a bit too involved, especially after the NYC adventure?  One thing I will say is that dancing got me through chemo, radiation, and has largely contributed to recovering from what the docs call catastrophic surgery. I'm proud that I kept dancing with a chemo fanny-pack & a pic line dangling from my vein.  I even danced for five different "audiences" at the cancer center on my final day of treatment.  I had a singing card playing "Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight" which was perfect for my 30-second "performanes".

 

I've grown & learned so much from this entire experience and have definitely become an even better, more attuned therapist as a result.  Nothing like trauma & thinking you're gonna die in a few months to wake you up to the preciousness of the life you already have!  One thing in particular for which I am extremely grateful:  prior to the cancer diagnosis, I was already living in the glorious moment, so after I recovered (only a couple of months ago) I felt no need whatsoever to change or transform my life.  I can honestly say that brushing up against a deadline brought no thoughts of "If I only had it to do over" or "what do I need to change now?".  Nope, I loved my life just AS IS before the cancer and love it just AS IS now that I've resumed it after an arduous, scary detour.  I missed an entire gorgeous Minnesota summer languishing in hospitals on a feeding tube, but coming back to life in the early fall is OK.  I honestly did not know if I'd survive, but here I am, better than ever.

 

I'll be curious to see if there is any interest in this more serious blog or if there are any "transfers" from my Caringbridge site.  I'm really hoping that there is and that this will become a pretty interactive process.  That is, if I can figure out how to respond to comments you leave!

I'm in trouble with this...........

I've totally forgotten how to post or even where I need to go to post!  It's been a very long time since I've used this web blog, but I recalled having to go through something called "Typepad" which led me to "SixApart" or some such.  I clearly don't know what I'm doing, but I finally managed to get HERE where I can even type some message, so I'll hit "enter" & see if it comes up on my web blog site.  Here's hoping!

My entire life has been upended and changed forever. Last January, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal cancer. After weeks of chemo and radiation therapy, I underwent what's called "catastrophic surgery" at Mayo Clinic. Seven hours later, my body had undergone dramatic alterations. My esophagus was entirely removed along with one third of my stomach. The remaining stomach was then attached to the bottom of my throat. This cancer has a 10% survival rate at five years.

I've done remarkably well although after two months, I'm still in the hospital due to many complications. A wide circle of angels has surrounded me - family, friends, and strangers have come to my life to hold me tightly with love, support and care. I feel blessed. The gifts far outweigh the suffering at this point. I've been furiously writing every day for four months on the Caring Bridge. Org web site under the name: nancyedwards1

Please join me on this incredible & inspiring journey to see how dancing with cancer is working.

Hello Once Again!

I've not posted in forever and wanted to finally say something.  When I was first pushed into creating

this web blog, I had lots of fun with it.  In this "phase" I also fantasized that a web blog would be

magic and magically produce all sorts of activities leading to SOMETHING.  What, I didn't know or care -

just SOMETHING:)

Well, three years later, I now view my web blog phase as just a fun memory.  A couple of years ago,

I also created half a dozen portfolios with media pieces & had them all ready to distribute to

SOMEONE.  I still have them.  That's OK.  Who knows, maybe when I'm still shaking my booty in

my 80s, the Dancing Grandma will go totally viral and I'll finally have found a way to achieve my

silly goal:  spreading the joy beyond my handful of dance venues.

This summer has just come to an end and it's been TERRIFIC!!!  I've never been happier.  My secret?

I've been in full "manbriety" for two whole years now.  Meaning I not only stopped "dating" (such a

nice word for what I was doing) and went even further by relinquishing all traces of romantic mythology.

I had no idea how contented and present I'd be minus this until I gave it some time.  The "myth" I'm 

referring to is that one can't truly be complete without partnering.  I've looked for a BFF my whole

life and finally found her:  IT'S ME:)

This was my second summer at Lord Fletcher's, which I've renamed "Lord Letcher's".  I made so many

fun acquaintances and danced hours every week end with 90-year olds, little kids, adult women &

men.  I've told a few folks how I feel when I first arrive on the Wharf:  like a thoroughbred horse in

the starting gate at the Preakness - LET ME OUT!!!!  My normal routine is to scope out potential dance

partners.  Often this mean finding drunk people since they're most likely to join me:)

As my tan fades, my weight edges up and the weather no longer supports my cute little summer

outfits, I'm beginning to ponder ways in which to occupy myself over the long winter.  Who knows

what I'll put into place?

Take care, loyal visitors if you're still tuning in:)