Aug 5, 2013

out of focus // summertime swing dancing.

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|| fourth of august twenty-thirteen || 
i don't want to crave perfection. i'm tired of it. it forces a gap for discontentment to easily settle in. and life is so short to make it something that it's not, nor ever will be. simply put it isn't perfect neither is it about making it so. but perhaps it is about learning to cherish the messy moments, the smudges & ink stains, the spins & the stumbles, the blurs and & the out-of-focus. i want to accept the imperfections - fall head over heels for the little things that make this life extremely unique and incredibly, profoundly beautiful. perhaps, because He accepts my every imperfection and because every bit of it is a stitch in a story that is being quilted together day by day made with patchworks from every bit of life-altering adventure and at-home day and afternoon spent in the garden and day at the fair with friends and perhaps, swing dances in the country. 

i've been begging to go swing dancing for who knows how long, and my wish finally came true. my friends jessica, simone, denise, and my distant, long-lost cousin megan were the most eager to join the crowd when i had planted the idea at the first morning rehearsals last month. i don't know what i would do without those girls. there's a barn about 20 minutes out of town in this teeny tiny town where there's nothing but one main street, a post office, and one restaurant. every sunday night they host swing dances with east and west coast swing lessons and an hour of free dance at the end. good heavens, am i far from even being near to knowing what on earth i was doing! but somehow with swing dancing, it's about laughing it off and moving on and stumbling and learning {and of course, avoiding stepping on your partner's toes}. i didn't capture many photos, as always when i go out, but the ones i did are blurry and out of focus and imperfect to the usual crisp photographer's in-focus portfolios. but each of them are spilling with laughs and memories of spending a few hours under a string of lights in the country, listening to strands of music some of my partners listened to when they were my age. the blurs sew memories of people whirling and laughing and stumbling and learning and being in love with life. being alive. 

and i wouldn't have them any other way.  


xx from your fellow swing dancer 
postscript // have any of you been swing dancing? 
p.s.s. i know i said i was going on a haitus, but these were too good not to share immediately. ;P  

14 comments:

  1. Oh my, I can't help laughing. I have a post sitting in my drafts waiting to go on my blog about my swing dancing experience.

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    1. Haha! That's fantastic {did you hear that in David Tennant's voice, didchya did ya?!!!} :D Can't wait to read your post, m'dear!

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  2. I love swing dancing! I learned from a group of friends this past spring and now it's leaked into our homeschool group. We have a dance every couple months. We also do civil war ball dances! :)

    Love th photos, by the way!

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  3. I've done square barn dancing, but nothing like this though. Beautifully captured both in words and photos. ;)

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  4. Squeee!! This was sooo beautiful! I've never done swing, but this post has made me want to more than ever:) Gorgeous pictures, stunning party. Happy sigh!

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  5. Ah, swing dancing is such fun! I've only been once, but my homeschool group does a swing dance once every year, and after last year I'm hoping to go again!

    Unfortunately, I have to wait until Spring 2014. *glances at watch anxiously* ;)

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  6. Love it, love! Such gorgeous pictures of a great evening. :) Love you, Cuz!

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  7. LOVE! I've never been swing dancing, but I know it's fun:) I do love contra dancing, though. It's kind of the same thing - not everyone knows what they're doing, but we're all smiling and laughing so it doesn't matter;)

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  8. yaaaaaaaaaay! I love swing dancing! Though I'm not particularly good at it... your little video made me want to start dancing again. My friends and I get together every now and then and do stuff like this... good times!

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  9. ...and we can most certainly hear those laughs and feels those butterflies of the moment and it's beautiful, just beautiful.

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  10. how fun! these pictures make me feel as if i was there. :)

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  11. Oh girl, these pictures are so perfect! I agree with you entirely- they are brim full of memories and you can see that in your lovely handiwork.

    I love you and all you do, darlin'.
    turkey
    p.s. you girls are adorable. Just saying...

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  12. ahh, darling. this is fabulous. i love the slightly out of focus shots, they just capture the vibe so beautifully.
    and that first photo is beyond gorgeous. (also, i'm not a huge fan of michael buble`, but the song is adorbs.)
    xx. marcia.

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  13. looks like so much fun and your pictures are magical! ♥

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