Pick a Skill – Any Skill

This question used to be on author interviews at Harlequin. It always fascinated me. What skill would you like to have that you don’t possess?

A butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker?
Not likely.

I find this question hard to answer because there are plenty of skills I’d love to put in my bag of tricks.

I love music, but I already play a couple of instruments, and I’m not really one you’d want to jam with. But singing – yes, I would love to do that well. But then what? Join a choir? (Okay, I’ve always wanted to be in a choir, but then it’s practicing and sticking to religious music.) So I’ll move on.

Cooking? I do like to entertain, but every time I see guests on the calendar, I panic. I want to make something really special. I want those oohs and ahhhs. But, I’m not actually interested in food. That’s a problem, no?

I finally settled on dancing. It’s great exercise. It’s a skill you use at fun events. I love to dance and so does hubby. He’ll get out there and shake it with any woman who’s not savvy enough to vaporize at his appearance. He doesn’t care what he looks like (though he does look pretty good) but I never feel…adequate. I'm not asking to be Dancing with the Stars good, but I'd like to feel confident enough that I don't have to burrow my way into the middle of the crowd so no one can see me. My shunning of the spotlight is difficult when I'm dancing with the one who seeks the spotlight.

So let’s add up the points for dancing. It incorporates my love of music and exercise. It’s in my genes because my brother owns a dance studio and my great-aunts will, up to the age of 90 and more, drop everything to dance the hully-gully or the Macarena. (Okay, that's not Dancing with the Stars, either, but they’re having a blast.) But best of all, dancing is a shared experience. It’s romantic to dance with the one you love and it’s fun to dance with your friends and family. So yes, I’ll vote for dancing as the skill I’d choose when my fairy godmother waves her wand.

What about you? What would you love to be able to do well?

8 comments:

Lee said...

I'm with you, I'd love to dance well. Like you. I like the idea of the excercise and I love music. Only I'd love to be as good as DWS, and have Max's as my teacher.

Lee said...

I'm with you, I'd love to dance well. Like you. I like the idea of the excercise and I love music. Only I'd love to be as good as DWS, and have Max's as my teacher.

Carly Carson said...

Lee, I've never seen DWTS but I think I'll follow your recommendation and wish for Max as my teacher. Sounds good.

Natasha Moore said...

I love to sing. For a while I sang with a women's barbershop chorus. It was lots of fun.

Cameo Brown said...

I love to dance and love to dance for people. I'm not a pro, but just getting up and dancing makes me happy. :)

Carly Carson said...

Natasha, what is a barbershop chorus? It sounds like fun. One of my dds is a good singer. The chorus director used to chase her around school begging her to join the chorus. She sings non-stop around the house but wouldn't join the chorus.

Cameo, if I ever meet you, maybe you can show me a few steps.

Natasha Moore said...

Hi Carly. You've heard of barbershop quartets, right. There are choruses all over for men and women that sing in four part harmony. Here's a link for the org that I belonged to:
http://www.sweetadelineintl.org/

Carly Carson said...

Natasha, I've heard of them but I never knew what they were. I'll keep it in mind for when my dd gets older. She has a low voice for a woman (alto?) which is one reason she was in demand.