Every Thursday evening Sam and I go country dancing.  The majority of the people there are older than us, and they are quite a lively bunch.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been getting to know them, and through chatting I’ve discovered that most of them have some sort of disability.  One lady has bad arthritis and walks with a stick, another chap has Parkinson’s disease, and another is visually impaired with Stargardt’s disease.  There are ladies with osteoporosis, and so on.

However, none of these people let their disability get in the way of dancing and having an enjoyable evening.  The lady with arthritis puts her stick down and dances for as long as she is able to. The chap with Parkinson’s also does his best.  Nobody is miserable or whines about their ailments.

When speaking to the chap with Stargardt’s, he summed it all up.  He said that yes as we age then it’s likely the body will get something wrong with it, but it’s how we cope with our disability that is important.  We can either give up, sit at home and wait to die, or get out there and do something enjoyable to take our minds away from illness.

He’s right.  Some leave early because of the frailty of their bodies, but hey, they’ve had the courage to turn up in the first place and have a go!  They’re keeping it all moving, and are happy while they’re doing it.  I’m learning a lot from my country dancing companions, and it’s all good.

Unfortunately we’ve got to miss this Thursday’s session as we’ll be at the van. Even Sam feels the benefit on his weaker leg that suffered an Achilles’ rupture, and surprisingly enough he’s really enjoying the exercise.

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