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At the End of 2021, Joy, When the Kids Are (Somehow) Alright
After 22 months of uncertainty and sorrow, witnessing moments of resilience has been especially sweet
This past weekend, my daughter’s ballet studio returned to live performance after a long pandemic hiatus. Little girls and young women in gauzy tutus and young boys and men in costumes and slippers took a stage with a backdrop of lollipops and a candy castle. The dancers and an adoring audience wore masks, as those of us watching soaked in Tchaikovsky and the innocence of make-believe. Toddlers had big moments in mouse ears. Teen girls who were on pointe before Covid-shutdowns got their chance at starring roles. As they spun and flourished and owned the stage, I caught myself considering the opportunities to perform they’d lost over the past few years, and how that sacrifice made this show that much sweeter.
I was surely not the only one thinking in these terms. Each time the music stopped, the crowd of parents and grandparents exploded in applause, as if we’d seen a group of kids work a miracle. In some ways we had.
These kids have passed through two school grades since the start of our global pandemic. Considering how much a child changes and grows in just one school year, this long, languishing time, measured on their…
