As I approached the beautiful park where my friends’ wedding reception was held, I briefly worried about finding a close parking space since I was nearly two hours late. Yet, the one silver lining to fracturing my ankle is that I have a handicap placard and there was a handicap place available.
I placed my famous cornbread on the savory table and joined some capoeira friends in the food line. About the only things I was looking forward to in the food line were the brisket, my cornbread, wedding cake and a glass of red wine.
The fun thing about this reception, other than the fact that it was a pot luck, was there was no formal “head table;” so I joined the blushing bride and other capoeiristas when I finally made it through the food and drink lines.
I felt as if I was at a capoeira family reunion. I got to see people I had not seen since I temporarily stopped training.
Funny thing is, I cannot remember having any deep conversations with anyone, but we were all in a jovial mood, which was appropriate, given why we were all there.
The happy couple hired different musicians, most of whom played a genre of Brazilian music, to perform for an hour.
The bride and some of her musician friends surprised the groom by playing a selection of songs. My favorite song kept making double entendre math/science comments.
I took a chance to dance forro on the smoothest surface I could find. My gamble paid off and I didn’t hurt myself, but of course my ankle became swollen. As hardheaded as dancing was, I couldn’t attend yet another music-filled evening as a mere spectator.
As invisible as I’d felt the past couple of weeks, I felt exhilarated to be seen once again.
Not only that, but some other women even commented on how beautiful I looked in terms of both my attire and the fact that I’d lost weight.
Honestly, I don’t know how anyone could possibly gain weight while being on crutches, but I do know how one can lose sexuality while being injured.
I realize that my entire since of self is not tied solely into my ability to walk, but my recent resurge of happiness is definitely due to gaining visibility and independence.
