It was about ten years ago, as Joy and I were enjoying a Taiko performance at an art museum in the Pacific Northwest, that I first thought, “I have to do that someday. “

It was three years ago, during the pandemic, that I looked up a local dojo and noted that,  now that my schedule had shifted to many meetings’ being on Zoom, I could manage to go to the classes and still get home to attend my meetings. I put myself on the email list for when they resumed classes.

It was a year and a half ago that I got the email notice: the dojo was open! Around the same time, I learned about the D.Min in Theology and the Arts at the United Seminary of the Twin Cities, applied, and was accepted. I was going to have to focus and prioritize in order to add graduate school to my life, so I reluctantly put Taiko back on the “someday” list.

Dance Brigade at Dance Mission Theater

It was three days ago that I learned that Dance Mission Theater, which is a mile from my house, would be offering an Absolute  Beginner Taiko class. Even on sabbatical, I have a lot of plans and commitments, but since this will be for only seven weeks, once a week, my hesitation didn’t last for more than a couple of seconds. I joyfully signed up.

And so tomorrow, I will be an absolute beginner at an art form (and serious workout) that has drawn me for years. I can’t wait!