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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2021 9 knew the steps and followed what they were doing. I would go home and practice over and over until I had it down. After taking lessons for about a year and a half, I went back to the class at The Lodge, which was being taught by Eileen Gilbert. She taught about five to seven dances at a time. After a couple of months, I offered to teach a few more dances and continued teaching with Eileen. In late 2009, Eileen left the class and I became the instructor. I found I had a knack for teaching the steps and had the patience to repeat whenever someone had difficulty learning them. I continued to take dance classes for several more years at The Grange. In 2012, Gary began having back pain which gradually became worse. The doctors could not find the source of the pain. In January of the following year, I took him to the hospital and three weeks later, they told us he had terminal cancer. He was in severe pain and on several powerful medications. Two weeks later he was gone. He never made it back home. I was devastated. Sparky cried every evening for about three months. Actually, we cried together. I continued to walk him daily and our bond grew strong. In April of 2019, Sparky passed away at the age of 15. Again, I was heartbroken, as I know many of you have been. Our pets become our children and our family – loving us unconditionally. I continued to teach line dancing and have had wonderful support from my friends in the class. They became my family. My Bistro group is my other family here and continues to support me and include me in the group. Then COVID-19 struck in March of last year. Within weeks, activities at The Lodge came to a halt. Like you, I isolated and stayed away from my family, canceled trips, and was alone. So, like any good dog lover I decided last summer to get another dog, but I wanted one that did not shed. I searched the adoption sites and most dogs were gone quickly or had problems. Then one day my daughter called from Texas. A friend of hers had just had a litter of chocolate Labradoodles and I would be able to get one. I flew to Dallas in early October to pick out my new dog. I fell in love with this tiny, silky female. I went back in late October to pick her up and flew her home. My spirits lifted and my heart became full again. Reyna is now eight months old, weighs about 55 pounds, and is a handful as puppies can be. She climbs up on my lap every night for cuddles and a nap. When she wakes up in the morning, I get kisses and the most wonderful, warm, and wiggly tail-wagging welcome you could ever imagine. Maybe I just needed something to love and take care of, but I like to think we are taking care of each other. Now that most of us have had our COVID-19 vaccinations, I hope we can start Country Line Dancing classes again soon. I really enjoy teaching dance to people who have no dance background. I am very grateful to still be able to teach something I love so much to people in this wonderful community. A big thank you to all of my friends for helping me through this past year. See you on the dance floor! "I searched the adoption sites and most dogs were gone quickly or had problems. Then one day my daughter called from Texas. A friend of hers had just had a litter of chocolate Labradoodles and I would be able to get one. I flew to Dallas in early October to pick out my new dog. I fell in love with this tiny, silky female... My spirits lifted and my heart became full again."

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