Nancy Edwards: The Dancing Grandma

I'm Back !

Hello to all my devoted fans! It's been a long time since I've posted anything and I apologize for this.
Truth be told, there hasn't been much activity to share with you but I felt obliged to say something!

This summer has provided me with countless wonderful opportunities to spread the joy of dancing and
dis-inhibition. Lord Fletcher's on the Whorf was a most delightful playground, especially when I got the
privilege of dancing with really little kids several times. To their parent's delight, I taught them that it's
a lot of fun to be a grown-up even if no one else was dancing.

It's been almost one year since my infamous trip to NYC and this adventure remains at the top of my list
of favorite experiences still. I recently learned that the Dr. Keith Ablow Show was canceled due to
insufficient ratings. However, the show on which I appeared was rerun no less than FIVE times!! It was
their all-time favorite show and was even repeated on Labor Day, the final day of the show.

I never even knew when it was being rerun, nor would I have known had it not been for any number of
strangers approaching me with, "Hey - I just saw you on TV!!!"

I still don't know "where this is going" or what opportunities the Universe will manifest for me, but even
if it idles or fades, I AM THE DANCING GRANDMA for LIFE and always will be. Thanks for hanging in there:)

Update :)

Hi to all my patient site visitors!  As you can see, I'm still having FUN being the only dancing grandma around the area.  The Dr. Keith Ablow Show reran my episode again two weeks ago.  This was a complete shock to me in that I was just surfing channels one Friday morning, and there I was dancing on national TV!

After waiting around for dozens of offers to gain public exposure and nothing forthcoming, I finally caved into the reality that I would have to
actively cultivate my new career direction.  At this point, I've created a
portfolio of TV, newspaper, magazine articles and dancing photos to show someone who might be interested in having me speak.  The hard part is figuring out WHO that someone (or several someones) might be.

I'm following what's called the "law of attraction" by focusing on my vision and belief that the dancing grandma has something to offer the Universe.  This is simply a model of joyful aging and being oneself.  The law of attraction posits that what we give our attention to we get more of.  I really like this concept.  So, instead of sitting back and focusing on what's NOT happening, I'm finally getting busy throwing my seeds of possibility all over the place and truly expecting that something will materialize.  In other words, and thanks to being very encouraged by the Awesome Women founding mothers, I am now "cooperating with the Universe".

In one effort yesterday to convince a church minister that I might be a fun speaker for a woman's group (bible study), he asked if what I do is "God-oriented".  In an effort to deflect him from knowing that our belief systems are not mutual, I said, "Well, the three surest ways to human joy are dancing, singing and laughing...I'm really good at dancing and laughing!"  This seemed to work, but even I am having a tough time imagining being in front of a bible study group swinging my ___!

A friend recently emailed me a web site address called "crazygeorge.com".  She said it might reflect my own evolving journey so I checked it out.  Low & behold, a man my own age named George did something 25 years ago which made him a millionaire several times over:  he created "The Wave" at a pro football game!  He only works three hours a couple of Sundays a month and continues to rake in big bucks!  Since I'm not really into this for the money AND I'm doing what I love, perhaps the "money will follow" as the book says?  I'll do it anyway, though:)

I'm very open to and eager for any ideas or connections you may offer, by the way.  Just drop an email or phone call if you know of groups, events, etc. that would enjoy having unbridled energy
unleashed on them!

The Big Apple Wants Me!

Recently the Universe handed me an unexpected opportunity. About two weeks ago, a New York TV producer began emailing and phoning me to be on a new talk show: "Dr. Keith Abrow". I asked what the topic was and how they found me.

The topic: older women dating much younger men.

Well over one year ago, I'd checked out a new dating site called "May/December". I didn't join it but my email information must've been stored because it linked Dr. Keith's folks to me.

I can only hope this subject is done tastefully - I sure plan to be cautious. The producers explained that men have always dated younger women, but that it's not as common the other way around. No kidding!

Then, they discovered the Dancing Grandma web site and went crazy over the idea of having me come to New York. Perhaps it's the whole "re-inventing oneself" thing. More than likely, however, it was probably due to making the mistake of informing them that I've dated a 24-year old. They begged him to appear with me but - thankfully - he didn't choose to do so.

The Big Apple Ate Us Up - Day 1

I couldn't sleep the night before this trip because I was really anxious about having made such a potentially life-altering decision, namely to "go public" in a big way with what's always been a local identity. I tossed & turned, finally arising three hours before my 6AM flight departure.

The flight was non-eventful with the only surprise being that NYC is on the OCEAN! I had no clue and had to ask somebody. A funny thing happened on my way to the studio: the handsome young driver gave me his cell phone number & said he'd love to take me out on the town if I had nothing better to do one of the nights I was there!

I tucked it in my purse, thanked him and allowed him to give me a hug which was rather "familiar". I thought to myself, "Well, isn't this proof of why they flew me here?"

The Big Apple Ate Us Up - Day 2

I learned that in NYC when someone tells you that a person will "pick you up" at a given time, they DON'T mean by car! They mean someone will WALK you to your destination! Crystal "picked me up" around noon and walked me for blocks to a small nightclub where the TV crew was waiting to tape me dancing with a handful of young guys who volunteered to do this. A couple of women were also there to emulate a nightclub scene.

The music started and I quickly forgot that I was being filmed and just got down. After what felt like hours, the men were told to line up in front of me then, one by one, each was "given" 30 seconds to show me their dancing "stuff". It was a Bachelorette model with me getting to choose my #1 partner!

The Big Apple Ate Us Up - Day 3

This is the BIG day!!!!  We were all walked to NBC's headquarters and led through very tight security into the "Green Room", where a hired baby sitter took over with the kids.  I felt sorry for them because they had wanted to be in the audience watching the show, not with a Polish baby sitter who seemed determined to give them a geography lesson as well as the history of Poland.

Mary and I were taken to make-up and hair rooms, then to ward robe.  We looked so nice.  We then proceeded on to an area behind the set and were seated in order of appearance.  We could watch the show in progress from here.  There were three other women brought here to represent "older women dating younger men". 

Day 4

This is how our final day in the Big Apple went.  The show's taping ended
on Day 3 around 1:00 in the afternoon.  We all walked back to our hotel where my daughter nearly collapsed.  This would make sense given that she's a single mother of five great kids and runs a horse boarding ranch with 80 horses!  Just to arrange making a spontaneous trip to NYC was nothing short of heroic for her.

I left her sleeping in our luxury hotel room and told the girls (6,8, and 13) that we'd explore the city.  We set out to see the big city; Trump Tower, Disney Store, and pigeon-feeding.  Exhausted, we hailed the form of transportation in this image.  After four days in NYC, I concluded that this was the ONLY way to travel, by the way.

On our last paid night in the Big Apple, we ordered prime rib from room service and a movie: "Flight
93".  We fell asleep, one by one, watching how terrorists hijacked a plane which we might very well be taking tomorrow.

On Day 4, we all packed up and stored our bags, then took a bus tour of the sights EVERY new visitor HAS to see.  Big mistake.  Our open air bus tour ($200) spent nearly two hours delivering us to a spot where we could theoretically see stuff.  Unfortunately, the weather had turned quite nasty, so the five of us froze in gail force winds and rain in the open air bus seats.

We walked for two hours, peeked at the Statue of Liberty (no time for the ferry), and stood near the concrete barracade blocking any real view of Ground Zero. The most exciting part of this experience was - of all things - feeding seagulls. I'd thought to bring a bag of uneaten french fries.  What a thrill as these birds swooped down, picking off food from our fingers!!!

We headed back to catch our pricey "Hop On, Hop Off" bus only to find that we had to wait over an hour to board for the one-hour trip back to our hotel!  The $200 tickets promised a ride every 10 minutes so that we could get on & off at our pleasure.  Bad advise from my young limo driver.

Surprisingly, after getting our bags out of storage, a big white stretch limo pulled up.  I think I'll insert just one more image here.  We arrived at the airport and saw that we'd be flying on a jumbo jet!!!!  As people were boarding this big plane, all five of our names were called to the service desk.

Apparently our boarding passes didn't include the flight from NYC to Chicago!  When we finally boarded, the officials realized that the three girls should NOT be on the front row emergency exit row of seats.  We stood at the front of this jumbo jet for 15 minutes while the officials tried to find us all seats.  Sitting right in the front row staring at us was an Iranian man who looked EXACTLY like the hijacker on the movie.

The man wouldn't smile and his eyes shifted back & forth.  We were spooked for sure.  Finally, some other passengers "traded" their seats so we could sit together.  Bree (13) and I occupied aisle seats.  She discovered head phones and rock music, then punched in this station for me.  The two of us sat there dancing in our seats with gusto until her mother - my daughter- told me to quit making the whole seat move around.  OK.

As long as I live I will never forget this magical adventure.......nor will my grand daughters, I think?  Thank you for sharing this incredible adventure with me.  Hopefully, this is just the beginning?

BREATH OF FRESH AIR

Hello to my fans! Yesterday, the Discovery Magazine hit the newstands with a very nice and detailed article on "The Dancing Grandma of Navarre". It was much more detalied than the February article in the Strib and the two photos were acceptable. Having action shots while dancing taken more often than not can reveal some very funny facial expressions!

The article mentions that my three adult children hold fast to the rule of "never bringing attention to oneself", and that my hope is they'll join me one day on the dance floor. This miracle has already occurred, but not in time to be noted in the magazine! My 40-year old daughter, Mary, has fully joined in the fun of dancing with her mom at local taverns.

I couldn't be happier about this! She's a much classier, smoother dancer than me and draws much attention when we "appear" together, but I'm more uninhibited by far. We make quite the couple out there. The greatest reward however of having her join me is that by doing so, she finally & fully "gets"
what this scene is all about for me. Any and all critical judgments have disappeared as a result, and my daughter now takes delight in this phenomenon.

I'm not sure where things will proceed from here. Unfortunately, the magazine article neglected to mention my web site, so there's no easy way for interested people to track me down with incredible job offers or invitations to be a party-starter. I guess if more is to come from this silliness, the Universe will present it to me?

I'm discouraged.......

Hi loyal readers! I wish I could report all sorts of wonderful career developments, but the truth is that I really don't know what I'm doing. After such a stellar start, my little women's group disbanded due to scheduling conflicts.

I continue to dance at least 3-4 times each week and the people present continue to love this demonstration of joy. In two days, there will be a photo shoot up at my beloved tavern. These photos will accompany a story on the "Dancing Grandma" in the quarterly magazine for the Lakeshore Weekly,
scheduled to hit the news stands the first week of May.

My 40-year old daughter has joined me in the joy of dancing at the Narrows this past month. It's really strange to see men I've dated hitting on HER! She's a better dancer than me - classier - but lacks the total abandon I possess. She's wondered this past year why her mom dances at a biker bar many hours a week. Now she knows! I'm delighted to have her experience this with me because it can't be easy to have a 60-something mom suddenly become a bar dancer!

Please stay with me and the news from this site.....I will continue to believe that there are far too few
examples of joyful living at my stage of life!

Daylight Activity

I made a decision a few weeks ago that I spend entirely too much time only having fun AFTER dark and in places where people are drinking. This decision led me to getting a very part time job at Caribou
Coffee in downtown Wayzata. My logic? Well, I'd be meeting new folks in the daylight who weren't using alcohol.

I've had a really hard time however in learning a whole new skill set! In fact, I'm calling myself the
"Cari-booboo". There's a whole subculture and language to this environment. Terms like "moose it",
"skinny", "half caf", "dry latte", etc. continure to trip me up.

One "guest" last week had this order: turtle mocha with lite whip no shavings moosed twice five splendas no bean half caf extra hot soy milk lite caramel drip no bean. Get THAT?! My God - and of course she had a line of customers seven deep behind her!

Since I only worked a four-hour shift once a week, I had little chance to really "learn through repetition" in my new job. My most common, ridiculous mistake is closing my apron strings in the cash drawer after ringing up a sale. This traps me and renders getting the coffees impossible until I ring up the next sale as I'm tied to the drawer!

My first, and so far ONLY, stint on the bar making drinks spooked me enough that I've managed to avoid working the bar ever since. No one seems to mind because all the other employees prefer working the bar and hate the cash register function.

While attempting to steam milk to 160 degrees, I splattered it all over myself and the bar. This hurt and was all I needed to become instantly phobic around steamed milk. Unfortunately, most drinks require this dangerously hot ingredient.

I am not doing this for the money! In fact, I earn more in one hour as a therapist than I earn in 13 hours at the coffee shop. Last week, after one month of trying to "get it right", my manager sat me down and delivered negative feedback from my co-workers. They're annoyed that I ask so many questions. Tears welled up in my eyes and I felt like a little kid who can't do anything "right".

I considered never going back. If a low-paid, difficult job like this could ding my self-esteem this much, why even do it? Oddly, my very next shift went really well and everyone was extra nice to me, telling me I was doing a great job. I think the manager must've informed them that I might run out of there crying.

It's starting to feel like fun now, so I'll probably hang in there. At least it gets me out of the cottage and among other human beings! And, I get one pound of FREE Caribou coffee a week :)