Manhattan is still alive a well. My visit yesterday was full, but I could not do all that I wanted. Maybe next Tuesday. I did visit my 101 year old aunt, who is weakening but still very beautiful. My nephew Rob joined me there for lunch. Then I went to visit my ex-husband, who is now in a rehab center. I haven’t seen him in about eight years. My feelings are very blank around him now. Not angry, not bitter, just glad not to be with him. Even though much of our relationship was not good, we always had an interesting dialogue about cultural events—movies, books, plays, art. We separated thirty-three years ago. A long time and many changes. Yesterday he seemed very interested in my life now. The past has floated away.
From there I went to Dance Manhattan for a Tango lesson with the wonderful Rebecca Shulman. It was very helpful and lots of fun. She’s a great teacher. We talked a lot and danced a lot. She commented on how vulnerable dancing tango can make a person: tender egos are exposed. It’s a very intimate dance. It seems here in NYC there are so many people studying tango and classes have more fluidity; the personnel changes frequently. This way there is less attachment to a group—a problem I feel in Halifax, where the community is small and can grow a crust around itself. So I said I guess I have to move back to New York. Nice idea for dance, for being with family, for the easy access to culture, but otherwise—I don’t think so. I love my home in Nova Scotia (especially when it is not being torn apart by reconstruction!).
Posted by leya at May 19, 2006 01:26 PM