Laughing and Learning with Abe

I teach dance every other Thursday morning at a senior center in Queens. It's truly the highlight of my day to spend the morning with a group of young at heart movers ages 60-100. Every week, half of my class gets anxious to leave at 10:20 to prepare for their 10:30 meeting, entitled "Laughing and Learning with Abe". Abe is one of the daily regulars and a ring leader of sorts. There have been many weeks that I'll walk in and happily go up to each table in hopes of signing up dancers only to receive an array of excuses and ailments. All I have to do is hunt down Abe and he convinces them to join my class. He'll even throw in the suggested $1 donation for his extra special lady friends!

I've had the opportunity to spend some time chatting with Abe and found out what makes him so intriguing. He's well into his 80's and has one of the most youthful, positive and energetic spirits I've ever encountered. He spends hours preparing a booklet of jokes, stories and inspirational quotes to share with his group each week. Today, I was told, they were discussing priorities and what you decide is most important to you when you get out of bed in the morning. To myself, I arrogantly thought, what in the world I have to prioritize at that age? I immediately felt guilty for never taking the time to realize that it doesn't matter what age you are, what job or responsibilities you have, you will always have priorities. And that's a good thing! It's what motivates you to get out of bed in the morning. It's knowing that there is going to be a part of your day that is important to you and that's what makes life worth living.

We all spend so many of our days frantically running around and going through the required motions. Have you ever stopped to think what part of that rat race is most important to you? It could be anything from rolling over to share a monster breath kiss with your loved one in the morning to going to your job knowing that someone there needs and appreciates you.

If you can't think of something that holds superior ranking in your life, perhaps its a sign you should take a deep breath, slow down and take a lesson in laughing and learning with Abe!

So what's your priority today?