Finding a new reality....

So.... here we are... life has been thrown out of the window completely. We've been a bit quiet the last few days because it's been a challenge to help her through as her little world fell apart around her. This past few days especially, every time I picked her up she'd ask what had been cancelled or ended now... until she basically had nothing left. Then school went too. Well, one last day tomorrow to get them set up on their online platforms, their work packs and stuff. When the school announcemenet looked imminent yesterday, I started drafting our plan for the week once it had gone because by Tuesday she'd begun to really panic about not having any idea what her life would look like. I did our plan and said we'd start Monday, taking this weekend to just breathe. She came to me a few minutes later and said no, she wanted to start this weekend. She's ready to try figure it out, and I'm ready to show her that her life will feel like hers still in some ways, just a different version of it. 

One of the fabulous things about this whole situation is the way people have brought community into the homes of others, total strangers. I've gathered up a programme of about 5 different ballet schools/teachers/providers that she'll take a variety of classes with - we are working at about 4 a week, plus her daily conditioning.  Tonight's photo is her first online class, this time with Bennet Gartside from the Royal. She's taking class at the same time as one of her lovely blipballetbuddies and she was so antsy to get at it. 

I'm going to use the proper camera every day. I'm going to take the time to find something that matters to me to photograph and record, no emergency blips. And we're going to journal. I'm going to journal here, she's going to do a corona diary... .as people have said, however tough this is, they're actually living through a piece of history that will be talked about in the future... we need to remember the things like the excited face she pulled yesterday simply because I'd been able to find a bread product in the shop for us. I never, ever imagined we'd be excited that we could buy bread. I'm grateful we live in a country where the reality is that we barely ever have that problem. And that I'm able to offer her online classes, that she'll have an ongoing education for the next 12 weeks, even if it's weird, that no matter how much things hit the fan there will be music for many many hours in our lives. 

Screw you, COVID19.  


In other news, Katie had a final audition on Tuesday night (her final live ballet class....) for the Northern Ballet centre for advanced training. Tonight they offered her a place on their vocational programme for September. 

Keep safe friends, and keep in touch.... I'm looking forward to connecting with my online friends a lot over the coming weeks.