I’ve Had The Time Of My Life

January 22, 2019 1:30 pm Published by

What a whirlwind it’s been! Now that I’ve had a few days to catch up with my thoughts and emotions I guess I can share the experience. Dancing With The Stars 2019 has come to an end and I know my life is richer for having done it.  Words just don’t seem enough to capture the feeling right now. Ecstatic. Excitement. Pride. Pure happiness.

What started with fear and intimidation turned into one of the most special, memorable, incredible events of my life and I feel so lucky to have been able to do it. When Eve asked me back in the late summer I hesitated because I thought it was too much for me to even try. Afraid to fail and fall on my face, I was so reluctant. But something inside me pushed to do something out of my comfort zone. To just do it afraid and go for it. Life is short and it is about so much more than what you have in your hands. Life is meant to be lived and the best way is to do things that scare the crap out of you. Go for the experiences over the stuff.

I had no clue what to expect going in. Zero dance experience. Zero knowledge of Latin dance or any form of professional dance for that matter. I didn’t even know my dance partner other than through shared friends. I was nervous about dancing with someone I didn’t know. I was worried about being “liked”. I was worried about not being able to learn the routines. I had no idea about choreography, costumes or anything that went with this experience.

In the beginning everything was such a challenge. The steps, the footwork, the movements – so much harder than it looks. Frustration was high for me. As we started to learn the steps together was an even bigger challenge. I haven’t danced with anybody but my husband in over 20 years and we certainly never had to co-ordinate our moves. This was not natural AT ALL.

It’s been the best time. Lots of conversations, lots of laughs and an experience I won’t soon forget. Rehearsal Friday night was a bit of a nightmare. I felt so lost being on the stage for the first time. Re-adjusting our routine to fit the stage. Changing some moves at the last minute. I was feeling so much pressure and feeling so unsure.

Saturday was so exciting. The getting ready process started pretty early in the afternoon with hair and makeup. A dragonfly in my hair a gift from my new BFF. To remind me of my mom, to give me strength and courage. So special.

Thanks to Tyler and his amazing crew at The Woods for styling us up.I truly felt so beautiful!

The opening number was fun too. But in that moment, as we got off the stage I said to Brian (my dance partner) “I don’t remember ONE SINGLE MOVE of any of our dances. Drawing a blank”. He told me it would be fine. “Muscle memory– you’ll remember.” I had to trust him. Yet again.

When we hit that stage for the first song – our Samba- everything just clicked. It’s an amazing feeling to hear people calling your name and clapping FOR YOU. The energy was like nothing else I have ever experienced or felt.  I am amazed that we flew through it like it was something we’ve always done. No stopping. No forgetting. Just the music, the steps and the fun.

Amazing moment on that stage.  To hear from the judges and to see the 3 nines.  I can’t even describe the feeling in that moment. So proud of what we did!

Then it was time for our second dance. My favourite dance. Brian chose the song and I have to say the emotion I feel when I hear it – it makes me cry every time. All that work came together for this moment and I couldn’t have been happier.  I was so thrilled to see a perfect score. So proud of us. All those practices. All that time. All that learning the moves. It paid off in such a huge way!

After the winners were announced, and we walked off stage, I had so many people stop me to congratulate me, us, on our performance. The comments and praise and love was overwhelming to say the least. I couldn’t hold back the tears, and my fake eyelashes couldn’t either – so much emotion. So incredible to feel that kind of support. Thank you to everyone for the hugs, the beautiful comments, the compliments and the love. And the flowers. My goodness – the flowers! There were so many! How lucky am I! I appreciate every bit of it.

No –  we didn’t take first place but we won in a much bigger way. I fought through insecurity and doubt. I fought through the fear of doing something I’ve never done. I learned something I never had a clue how to do.

I walk away with a friendship that is so much more valuable than any title or trophy could ever bring. Brian – you rock. Thank you for everything you did to get us to that stage. It was an honour to do this with you.

To everyone else that made this night happen – thank you. Too many people to mention by name. It takes a village, right? You know who you are and you and your kindness will never be forgotten. I can’t wait to continue classes at The Studio with Brian and his “Studio” family.

It’s been a dream brought to life in a big way. Everyone I have met is now a part of my life story and I am forever grateful for everyone and for the whole experience.

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This post was written by Carrie Buchanan