Connected

Have you ever watched YouTube videos on the internet while connected with another person by phone? It's hysterically funny and kind of comfortable and really interesting all at the same time.

Picture this: I'm sitting on the bed, clacking away on my computer, dressed in my rattiest, most comfortable old tie died fleece robe with airconditioning vents (aka holes) in interesting places. I remembered to call my cousin about a new operating system I'd seen the day before that's still in beta testing. She's into that. I called and she immediately told me about the Susan Boyle video on YouTube. I hadn't seen it so I pulled it up while we were chatting and watched it. Yes, I multi-tasked. I can do that because I'm female and I have ADHD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

I won't add it again here, I'm sure anyone who wants to see it has. I was totally blown away by it. I sat here with tears rolling down my face and silently cheered her on. It's so cool to see some one like her, like me, come out and totally blow the audience out of their seats, literally forcing them to give her a standing O just by virue of her talent alone, and making them look beyond her exterior to see her soul  and all the beauty in it.

When that video finished, I was idly scrolling down and saw the video for Stavros Flatley. As you can see from the picture, it's very strange, but looks compellingly like a shot from Lord of the Dance. I've long been a fan of that and of RiverDance and I knew the main dancer's name was Michael Flatley, so I just had to check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gHvATmUsSg

I almost hurt myself laughing so hard. My cousin wanted to know what I was watching since she could hear the music over the phone, so I told her where to find the video and she went there. By then, I was ready to watch it again so we both clicked on it and just bawled with laughter. She's a fan of Irish dancing too, but she'd never seen Flatley dance it, so I looked up the vid and told her where to find it. We even got synchronized on that one, so we had stereo sound.

We spent the next 3 1/2 hours watching clips and videos from Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, then just wandered to what caught our eyes. In the clip below, we watched 32 pairs of feet in perfect unison, slapping the floor, making the percussion for some of the most stirring celtic music. We both marveled at the timing and athleticism of the dancers, and their grace and beauty as the moved across the stage. Some of them have hang time during their jumps that would make an NBA star pea green with envy! Jean Butler, in particular, seems to just float across the stage during her performances, light as air and flowing like the river.

 The grand thing about this was that we were able to talk and comment on the same videos, without either of us having to leave our comfort zones. My knees have issues with stairs, she lives on a 3rd floor walk up. She lives across town from me.

I was folding laundry, she was doing dishes. We both had things to take care of, but we managed to connect and have a real ball while taking care of what we needed to. We spent an afternoon together, strengthening a familial bond and a friendship, while still being able to take care of some of those pesky home chores that never seem to get done.

It wasn't an earth shaking day, but it was one I'll add to my memory box and replay on a regular basis. Sometimes, memories like this can help during those coldest hours of the night when I feel like the only person on earth who's awake, when the pain is overwhelming and I just can't get to sleep. Memories like this are the warm quilts that convince me that I'm not alone in the world, that family, especially family of the heart, is a vital part of my world.