I’ve seen this meme more than once since the COVID-19 pandemic started. And boy can I relate. Life since March has been a haze of wine, cheese, takeout, Zoom meetings, attempting (poorly) to home school and mourning every last moment that was supposed to be special over the past five months.
In March I had plans to take my sons on a road trip to visit friends in the Chicago area. COVID canceled that trip. I turned on my phone on St. Patrick’s Day to record a green beer post on my Facebook page, thinking it would be interesting to look back on the year that St. Patrick’s Day was cancelled.
And then it was all cancelled. Concerts. School. Sports. SUMMER. Everything. All those fun things my oldest was supposed to do to end elementary school. A ballroom dancing performance that all fifth grade students do. Picking which famous person to dress up as to do a “Wax Museum” performance. And all the road trips and zoo trips and birthday parties and baseball games and vacations that should have marked memories of 2020.
I’m not the only person who has taken this hard. The pandemic pity party is universal. And like so many of my family and friends, I needed something to look forward to. That’s when I saw Christi post a beautiful picture of a floral headpiece and say she was looking for models for a free shoot (!!!) so she could try it out. (You should follow her on social media. She does this a lot with new backgrounds and sets and props and other fun stuff!).
I’ve had the honor of shooting with Christi twice before. Both time here in Omaha and both as part of pinup parties. I LOVED the experience. Watching my friends transformed into vintage pinup sirens! Seeing their confidence build every time Christi shared a gorgeous image from her camera screen. It was empowering to see everyone cheering each other on. And the way I felt. Like I was a glamourous Hollywood movie star! So when I saw that post looking for models, I knew how badly I needed that experience again. A chance to break the pandemic fog.
Two points I want to make here. First of all, everyone has to decide what behaviors and activities are comfortable and safe for them in the COVID era. Personally, I was at ease making the six-hour drive to the Twin Cities, knowing I would keep stops to a minimum, mask at every stop and practice rigid sanitary measures. And secondly I felt VERY safe in studio with Christi and stylist Lela Wright. I have never had my make-up done by someone in a face shield before. I highly recommend it, because nobody had to deal with my coffee breath! It was obviously the studio is impeccably clean. And the space is HUGE. No problem keeping that six-foot window of space. Also just being able to look through all the clothes and shoes. It was the “kid in candy store” moment I’d been craving since COVID kicked us all in the throat a few months back.
The shoot itself was amazing. The gorgeous and feminine flowers. The chance to step back in time on the diner set. Christi’s dedication in making my favorite color (yellow!) the centerpiece in several shots. I made a point of having a picture done in my favorite lemon-print mask. That picture will take me back to this moment in time. When I felt helpless, but in control for that special weekend.
The haze of stress and uncertainly and bad food choices hasn’t left me the best version of myself these days. I feel the “chubby” part of that opening meme and I know I’m not the only one rocking a quaran- TEN right now. I knew that Christi would make me feel comfortable in my skin. The 2020 version of me is a little different. But she’s still me and she’s still pretty great. This pandemic has taken a lot away. But not everything. Not confidence or beauty or kindness. Or FUN. I’m so glad I got to accept my renaissance floral crown and take that moment to star in my own work of art.