Confessions of a Single Mother: Drunk in Love or Sober in a Bra and Pants

“Yes this room is perfect for tonight’s routine”.  

I knew I wasn’t the only one. But I also knew I was probably in the minority. My question is; do you ever dance in your bedroom?

Sometimes I picture myself in a club, other times I’m doing a fitness class for pensioners. It depends on the music and the workout. (I am sure psychologists would have something to say about me visualising myself as the centre of attention; like I am satisfying my super ego and underlying subconscious needs for attention.) But hey ho, everyone has a little Pop Star in them. Mine is unleashed daily.

But it’s not all fun and lap dancing; this is also a workout. Yes I do it for fun; but a sweat is broken each and every time. I really lose myself. – And my clothes. Am I naked? Well never completely but often I’ll be getting ready or straight out the shower so sometimes I’ll pretend I’m Beyonce (Drunk in Love on the beach in a bikini) – only I’ll be sober in a bra and pants from M&S.

My bedroom dance sessions got me through my A-Levels, and helped keep me active during pregnancy. I danced right up until my due date, when the poor baby had clearly had enough of me pretending to be in Destiny’s Child. (Now I think about it, I can attribute my fast labour to all my dancing).

I’ve been a keen bedroom dancer all my life, dating back to the Spice Girls, Aqua and Vengaboys (My parents were grateful we lived in a bungalow when Boom Boom Boom Boom came on, I really went for it with my Booms. By this I mean; I jumped around A LOT, resulting in heavy thuds much like that of an agitated elephant). .

How does this relate to the Happiness Project? Well Gretchen Rubin writes of how she danced in her bedroom in an attempt to fulfil one of her resolutions to stimulate the mind in new ways. ( After all these years my mind is well and truly stimulated, in my head I am performing at the Opening Ceremony of the Brazil World Cup with J Lo; hell it’s my imagination; I AM J LO.) Rubin mentions how she had to “squelch thoughts of self-criticism” and that she felt goofy (but also energised and exhilarated). This is alien to me as I never really think about how I must look; probably absolutely ridiculous but then no one’s watching. We hope.

If I am still mindlessly dancing in my bedroom in the sparkly bright distant future; I’ll know I am a happy woman. It really doesn’t take much; it’s highly euphoric; go on, give it a go.

Where it all began; this is where my talents were nurtured and I picked up my varied skill set, good posture and flexibility (I joke)…Yup that’s me second from the right.