If I had to create a bumper sticker that models my philosophy for life it would be, "I Hope You Dance."
This is actually the title of a song by Leann Womack which I first heard when living in Myrtle Beach, SC in 2002. My life at that time was crazy! I had just graduated college, broken up with a long time boyfriend, and started (only to quickly quit) my first "real" job. Whenever I would call my mom with the latest sob story she would say, "I hope you dance." Because I was 21 and my mom was obviously a total weirdo, I didn't pay much attention to her. I shrugged the saying off, never giving it a second thought.
One evening as I ran around Angelos serving steaks on sizzling platters to unhappy vacationers at the beach, I heard the line, "I hope you dance" in the kitchen. For a minute I felt disoriented like my mom was there with me. Actually, I thought I might be going a little insane. I realized that it was the radio and that the line my mom kept repeating, over and over, was the chorus of a song. Imagine my surprise to learn that my own mother could be cool enough to use the line of a song as advice!
The song, "I hope you dance," is about learning to live your life to its fullest potential. It's about never giving up hope and trying things that might seem scary to you. Even when we fail we can say that we at least tried. As an adult (even though I was technically one then too!) I truly understand the meaning behind these words. "I hope you dance" is not some silly thing my wacky mom said to shut me up, what she was trying to tell me was that even though life gets rough and I could sit around complaining about it, I would be better off if I took things in stride, learned a lesson, and moved on to overcoming the next obstacle.
Now I have a child and even though he's only two, I often tell him, "I hope you dance" Max. Of course, right now he takes that to mean he should throw his arms in the air and spin in circles but, hey, that works for me.
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Wow, well i really like that saying, i might just use it on a couple of ppl myself if you dont mind. And your little boy sounds so adorable i can actually picture him doing that just because ive been around kids a fair amount of times.
ReplyDeleteI like this a lot. My mom doesn't always say "I hope you dance" but she always encourages me to keep trying.
ReplyDeleteIts always great to hear and encouraging word or phrase, and this one... ha I love it. We all slowly mature into learning to overcome our rough patches in life, but having that verbal encouragement helps us learn even faster. I wish my mother could be encouraging.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that song. I remember, years ago, driving around with my mom and brother. My quirky/wonderful mom would put that song on repeat and make us sing it over and over. Each time she played the song again she'd claim we didn't sing it with "enough emotion" and to try again. Wow...it sounds silly, and it really was. But that memory and that song are both two that have stuck with me to this day. Life is about taking chances, making memories. No regrets, only lessons learned. GREAT song. Everyone should listen to it.
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