Cookie and the Zumba Princess

Once upon a time, there was a woman named Cookie. Cookie lived in a tidy house with a garden she had planted herself and a deck she had designed and built. Cookie was highly organized. She was loving to her friends and family, and the little children she knew adored her.

But there was something about Cookie that many people did not know.

Cookie loved to move.

She loved to ride a bicycle. She loved to work outside. But more than anything, she loved to dance.

One day, Cookie got an idea. She would try Zumba.

This was a little scary to Cookie. What if she couldn’t do the moves? What if she wasn’t in shape enough and got too tired? What if she didn’t belong there?

But Cookie was not the kind of person to let her imagination get the best of her. When Cookie wanted to do something, she did it, with all her heart.

So Cookie went to Zumba class. She even took a friend with her, which was brave, because sometimes it is easier to try new things in private, just in case they go sideways.

While Cookie and her friend waited in the gym for Zumba class to start, a woman with black eyeliner, curly hair, and a gray tank top walked up.

“Is this where they have the class? I can’t believe this is where they have the class. Where are the mirrors? All the Zumba classes I have ever done have mirrors. I’ve done really good Zumba classes. They have the best Zumba classes in Providence. This room is really small. It will probably be crowded. I need a lot of room for Zumba. Can you even do Zumba without mirrors? In Providence the teacher was usually up on a stage. I can’t imagine how this will work.”

Cookie and her friend looked at each other.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” said Cookie to the Zumba princess.

“I hope the music is good,” said the Zumba princess, shaking her hair. “The music had better be good. If the music isn’t good it’s just not Zumba. With a crowded floor and no mirrors and the teacher not on a stage, Zumba will be very different. I don’t know if it will even feel like Zumba.”

Suddenly, Cookie realized she wasn’t scared at all. She felt sorry for the Zumba princess, who needed every little thing to be perfect in order not to be an annoying person. Cookie didn’t know what was going to happen when she danced, but at the same time, she knew exactly what would happen: she knew she would enjoy every minute.

And she did.

She shook, and she shimmied, and she turned, and she whirled, and she laughed, and she was out of breath, and she danced more and more until the music made her feel as light as flower petals nodding on a breeze.

And Cookie’s friend saw Cookie laughing and dancing and completely forgot to feel silly that she didn’t know the steps. And Cookie’s friend began to laugh and dance with abandon too.

The Zumba princess left class halfway through. Nobody asked her to stay.

Happy to be your friend, Cookie. Thanks for asking me to dance.




p.s. In Kansas City, check out a class with our fave teacher, Wendy.