From the Series: Life of Dog Hill
Confession: I love hip hop music, and whenever the music starts playing I can’t sit still. In my mind, I’m breaking, locking, and popping with the best of them. The reality is that my hip hop moves look like my dubstep moves — not so smooth. The first time I tried dubstepping, my son Ryan told me I looked like a grandma trying to pick up her glasses.
Ouch!
That doesn’t take away from the fact that I LOVE dancing. If you’ve been with me a while, you already know that to be true. I’ve been a ballroom dancer since the early 90s and recently took up Argentine Tango.
So why not hip hop and dubstep? Besides, folks older than me are doing it!
Check out 60-year-old Shirley Clements leading this hip-hopping group to Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk”. Her video became so popular that Ellen picked it up. You’ll need to watch the Ellen clip because she “doctored” up the Bruno Mars video with some Shirley pizazz—pretty funny!
Hip hop doesn’t have to include headstands, like the one Shirley does at the end of her routine. Check out this 70-year-old man’s smooth hip hop moves. This dude’s got it going on; after all, he’s the only man in the room!
Those of us bringing up the rear of the baby-boomer generation have the chance to redefine how we think of age. Why should we think that retirement is anything less than making every day an adventure? Do what you love, and love what you do kind of thing.
For me, that’s gonna be dancing. Every. Single. Day.
I’ve already got great role models. For starters, meet my ballroom dance partner Silvano (left). At 75, he out-dances my butt every time we hit the floor!
Then there’s my Argentine Tango instructor Dutch. He’s 70 and starts every day on the dance floor.
The good news is that, at 51, I’ve got plenty of time to sharpen my dancing skills and even learn a new dance or two. I should probably start learning hip hop pretty fast though if I want to audition for this mature-only hip hopping sensation. The youngest member of this jamming dance team is 68!
Remember friends, age is just a number. It will never dictate how you live your life; only you do that.
So go ahead, think about the desires simmering in your heart. What do you imagine yourself doing if only you could? Don’t let your age stop you from learning something new, just get out there and give it all you got.
Go ahead, make life an adventure!
How you see yourself actively living your retirement years?
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