Missing or cancelled, themes for our times in a pandemic

All festivals cancelled during the pandemic summer I move to a condo in Cobourg. I’m fine with that. It’s quiet, which I like. The beach, too is closed, which is necessary. We want to limit out-of-town visitors. We want to reduce contact with strangers. We want to limit harm. Yet I miss these dynamic venues which offer contact with like-minded people. Like me, Tom is a member of the Spirit of the Hills. He knew my late husband. They talked about gardening at Baltimore Nurseries. During the 2019 festival my friend from Britain came on her way to dance camp at Trent University. She loved the busy beach. It reminded her of where she lives in the south of England. When the beach closed I missed walking along the shore on the sand. Now I can, but only during the week. Today I walked on the beach with Irene. We met Antony and Ana, another SOH member and a poet. We became friends in Cuba where we attended the CCLA workshop in February. When will we travel again? Then we saw two Killdeer chicks scurrying along the wet sand, running away from us and the waves. They get to fly south. I’m envious.

Pandemic summer has been the year of fresh air. Luckily I’m living where the air is fresh: lake breezes, winds from the west, easterly gusts. Barefoot dances on the grass or Zoom classes? Of course I prefer being with real people on the dewy grass, but I miss the company of distant friends. All workshops cancelled, so we have to improvise. We’re good at that! We zoom and exercise together in the comfort of our own houses. We come from England, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland, and across Canada. We chat and wave. We laugh and cry. We are patient with wavy sound and compromised music. We stretch and step. We twirl and reach. We look forward to meeting up again. It will be virtual.