Dear Friends,
Happy 10th Birthday Michelle!
Please join us this Saturday, September 14th at 9:30am for a one-hour Stop Drop and Dance class celebrating Michelle Poirier! All classes are at UUMarin (Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin) located at 240 Channing Way in San Rafael.
Michelle has been regularly joining our classes with her mom, Amy, on Saturdays or during school breaks for the last year-and-a-half, and her 10th birthday wish this year is to have her own Stop Drop and Dance birthday class just like the other adults do!!!
Isn't that adorable?
Michelle will be picking her favorite songs for us to dance to and she will help to lead all the dances up front! We hope her display of bravery will inspire many of you to join her up front too!
Michelle chose a FROG THEME (haha!), which means let's try and wear GREEN if you have it! (Amy will bring accessories for everyone)
Make it a family affair!
For 10 years before having kids, I was an elementary school teacher during the day and a fitness/yoga teacher at night. I loved teaching kids and adults, and often shared about my personal life and stories.
When I was pregnant with my first daughter, Zaydee, I had to take a leave of absence from EVERYTHING and go on bedrest at 3 months into my pregnancy.
It was an absolutely humbling and terrifying time in my life.
After Zaydee was born, I was so grateful for a healthy baby, and I was extremely eager to get moving again! So as soon as I could, I started teaching my fitness classes.
I was so excited to share Zaydee with everyone that I actually brought her in the carseat as an infant and put her in the front of the room while I taught a Cardio Sculpt class. My class was so happy to meet her, but I definitely got scolded from the higher-ups at the gym I was at (oops!).
From that moment on, I never went back to the classroom, but continued to teach fitness classes.
And I still brought Zaydee with me, but to the more-appropriate-and-safer childcare side of the gym or studio. Zaydee, and later Rylee, just grew up learning to read, play and wait for me while I taught.
When the pandemic hit and Zoom was introduced into our lives, my girls just became my backup dancers on the screen. They didn't have other activities and I didn't want to teach alone, so it just worked out that way.
It was such a blessing to be able to prioritize my own physical and mental wellness, but have my girls join along with me.
This is why I decided a few years ago that kids should be free (with a participating parent).
"Thanks to dance... I have two families."
If YOU need exercise and YOU need community with other adults and YOU need music and joy and silliness in your life for your own well-being... please come take a class with us!
And if taking care of kids is the obstacle...
Then bring your kids with you to class for free!
Allow yourself to prioritize YOU for that one hour, and if they join you, then even better!
I know when my cup is empty, then I am an unhappier, more impatient, worse person in general.
But when my cup is filled, I am a better person all around.
Happiest Golden 13th Birthday to my little Zaydee!
(Turning 13 on September 13th!)
Love,
Grace
