The entire contents of my daughter's life for the last two years are in this minivan.
Life can be so simple.
Life can be so complicated.
This is my daughter that Marie Kondo'd her things before Marie Kondo was even a thing. The morning after we arrived at her place my husband opened her cabinets for a coffee cup and found one. One.
Where are all your coffee cups?
She had one coffee cup. She also had one plate and one bowl. It was just her so why would she need more she reasoned. She had a dish drainer next to the sink; no dish washer. Whenever she used her cup or bowl or plate she washed and dried it and put it away. That simple.
The entire apartment was like that.
A twin bed with under dressers and one set of bedding. She washed her sheets once a week she told me.
A desk, a chair, nightstand, floor lamp, laptop, printer, two trash cans, and area rug. Two carry on size suitcases of clothes and two bath towels. A box of toiletries, a box of art supplies and a box of food leftover in her pantry. What was left of a multipack of paper towels and toilet paper that I had bought her in January. Those were all the things we brought back with us.
The small table and four chairs in the dining area, the utensils and pot and pan left in the kitchen belonged to her roommate who had yet come back to move her belongings out. That was it. Everything in that apartment.
Both girls had trained six days a week to be ballet dancers.
They woke up, did some schooling online, took the subway to the dance studio, danced all day, came back home and made dinner, maybe did some more online classes, then went to bed.
They are both seventeen.
Life can be so simple.
We went to Philadelphia to move my daughter back home last week. We squeaked into town just before the 6pm curfew with National Guard in the streets and police helicopters in the air due to the recent race riots. G had lived on her own for the last two years to pursue a career in dance. Covid-19 put an end to that. The timing was horrible. It was audition season. Time to make plans for the summer and fall. Her friends are now scattered, literally, around the globe. The majority, herself included, are not returning to Philadelphia in the fall. There is too much uncertainty. Those that were offered trainee positions are pondering accepting a spot in companies that may not have a season at all. And those are the lucky ones. ..
Age wise G will be a senior in high school this fall. She was not offered a trainee position. She could train another year and try to find a job next spring... or she could come home.
She decided to come home. She is considering becoming a "normal teenager" and going back to "normal high school" to go to college. She only needs one more class to graduate high school though so she is now negotiating with the local high school on what classes she would take if she returned. She has not danced since March.
Life can be so complicated.
This is my daughter that Marie Kondo'd her things before Marie Kondo was even a thing. The morning after we arrived at her place my husband opened her cabinets for a coffee cup and found one. One.
Where are all your coffee cups?
She had one coffee cup. She also had one plate and one bowl. It was just her so why would she need more she reasoned. She had a dish drainer next to the sink; no dish washer. Whenever she used her cup or bowl or plate she washed and dried it and put it away. That simple.
The entire apartment was like that.
A twin bed with under dressers and one set of bedding. She washed her sheets once a week she told me.
A desk, a chair, nightstand, floor lamp, laptop, printer, two trash cans, and area rug. Two carry on size suitcases of clothes and two bath towels. A box of toiletries, a box of art supplies and a box of food leftover in her pantry. What was left of a multipack of paper towels and toilet paper that I had bought her in January. Those were all the things we brought back with us.
The small table and four chairs in the dining area, the utensils and pot and pan left in the kitchen belonged to her roommate who had yet come back to move her belongings out. That was it. Everything in that apartment.
Both girls had trained six days a week to be ballet dancers.
They woke up, did some schooling online, took the subway to the dance studio, danced all day, came back home and made dinner, maybe did some more online classes, then went to bed.
They are both seventeen.
Life can be so simple.
We went to Philadelphia to move my daughter back home last week. We squeaked into town just before the 6pm curfew with National Guard in the streets and police helicopters in the air due to the recent race riots. G had lived on her own for the last two years to pursue a career in dance. Covid-19 put an end to that. The timing was horrible. It was audition season. Time to make plans for the summer and fall. Her friends are now scattered, literally, around the globe. The majority, herself included, are not returning to Philadelphia in the fall. There is too much uncertainty. Those that were offered trainee positions are pondering accepting a spot in companies that may not have a season at all. And those are the lucky ones. ..
Age wise G will be a senior in high school this fall. She was not offered a trainee position. She could train another year and try to find a job next spring... or she could come home.
She decided to come home. She is considering becoming a "normal teenager" and going back to "normal high school" to go to college. She only needs one more class to graduate high school though so she is now negotiating with the local high school on what classes she would take if she returned. She has not danced since March.
Life can be so complicated.
