Tree of Life Tote

Products Catered Towards Healthy and Sustainable Living‏

This is not a story I have told a lot of people.  Actually, I think I’ve only told my husband thus far in my life!  So, I guess I am still somewhat embarrassed by it after all these years.

*Heavy Breathing….1..2…3…4..*

I really wanted to be a tap dancer.  I watched the old ‘talkies’ with my grandparents and the dancers like Fred Astaire amazed me.  I mean, I was like seven or eight so what did I know about life choices, but I thought I really, really wanted to tap.  I loved dance costumes and tap shoes.  How elegant.  Somehow (not sure how?) my mom scraped up enough cash for me to take lessons for one year.  You know what?  I was THE BEST in the class.  Shirley Temple had NOTHING on me (oh wait, too soon?).  My dance teacher, Ms. Darla, was like a dolled-up middle-age Carol Burnett look-alike with a southeastern Ohio accent and leotards, fancy totes and every kind of colored lace in her tap shoes you could imagine.  I thought she was gorgeous.  And, boy, could she TAP!

I was going to be Ms. Darla’s star pupil in her kid’s class.  I got pretty darn close, too!

I knew all the words to every dance song, would use my body well when doing all the moves and I had a fun attitude when I danced.  I was so happy going to class each week.  I wore hand-me-down tees and sweat pants, but man, I knew that we were going to get a dance costume for a huge number and I could not wait.

Oh, I loved this costume! 

 

Until.  Dum Dum DUM.

I realized – recital announcement made – that you had to perform in from of *gasp* an AUDIENCE.  What?  I didn’t want to perform for people, I just wanted to dance.  In Costume.  Darn it.  What fun was doing it with all eyes on you?  And, plus, I was forced to dance in not one- but TWO- dance recitals in our small town’s ONLY Opera House/theater (so, basically, everyone in the village was there) and I had to perform at the Fourth of July parade.  I hated it.  I hated it so much I didn’t want to dance anymore.  Even the coolest sequins and feathers were not enough for the misery it caused me to tap in front of a crowd.

I told my mom at the end of the year – NO MORE TAP!  WHY?  She was confused.  I wouldn’t answer.  She didn’t know why.  But she knew I said no.  NO! NO! NO!  But then – my tap teacher CALLED my mom and basically told her she thought I was talented and had to take tap.  My mom said Ms. Darla wanted me to dance and not one to disappoint, I said yes.  I HATED IT, but I excelled in class and was put in the front row for our recitals.  Dreading the upcoming performances and not knowing how to get out of this never ending anxiety wheel, I took action at the first major dance recital – I mean EVERYONE was there.

I completely BOTCHED the performance.  I mean, I went right when the other girls went left.  I went in circles while all the other girls went straight in a line.  My mom has pictures.  Yes, they exist.

‘The Innocent’ before the performance (me on the left). I was ready to start ‘Dance Plan Sabotage’.   

 

Yup, still me on the left.

I was the ‘leader’ at that moment and the girls were like, “WHAT????”   

 

I looked ridiculous! 

My poor parents were probably choking themselves in their seats.  I’m shocked my mom even took photographic evidence.  The great thing was – Ms. Darla never asked me back to her dance class and I never performed again.  I was FREE and HAPPY!  However, now that I understand that correlation; I loved to dance and was good at it, but hated to be put on display at that young age I think it is cool that my daughter, with no prodding or mention on my end, wants and LOVES to dance anytime/anywhere makes me happy and smile.  After all, I do love to dance (though to be honest, I never really tried to dance after those lessons as a kid, so I completely stink.)  I love to see her dance.  She clearly loves it as well as performing for others.  And, I am so into the dance gear that goes with it as much as she is, too!

Say it with me now!  Dance Gear!  Look, I promise you that I’m not a crazy side-show dance mom, but I do like cute little dance outfits and totes and what better way to dance with zen than with the fun Tree of Life Tote.  I love it for our yoga gear (oh yeah, we are yogis, too) and I use it for my daughter’s dance gear.  It is large, has great zippered pockets with an easy magnetic-snap closure.  The tote is 100% cotton with nylon lining.  It’s awesome for classes especially for multiple sports locations on-the-go!  What a perfect tote to have all your exercise gear.  Here’s to loving and living health and exercise – live audience performance NOT included, thank you very much.

Tip!  I personalized this tote for class with Brooke’s name and the word DANCE (I’m still trying to find a cool one for YOGA, too) from a sew on patch I had personalized through a store on Etsy.  The colors match perfectly and it looks super cute.

What does Tree of Life Mean?  The Tree of Life is a multi-branched tree that illustrates the idea of interconnectedness of all living things on the planet.

Tree of Life Tote‏

www.gaiam.com

List Price: $ 24.95