Pivot, I thought, belonged to the ballerinas. Like eight-year-old Beatrice on Sunday mornings, a pivot, and a pirouette down the aisles of our church during the last song; a ballerina must dance.  Everything changed when the pirouette and pivot required a masque and a 6-meter rule keeping the dance within confines of a pew—loss, pain, and grief for many, inconvenience, and new discoveries for others.  

During those long days with nowhere to go but out for essentials, I found myself lingering at the essential service 'pet shop.' I stared at caged birds, rabbits, Siamese cats, and puppies in the ghost town at the local strip mall. I bought, rather rescued, I told my friends, a blue Merkle Yorkie poo and named him Rufus. Later I found him a home with K & D, who turned his shag into a photoshop poodle with bows.

We lined up for seed in response to the flash ads, across the screen in between stats and case lists breaking the health care system in Canada. "Try chili seeds, "the clerk suggested keeping the squirrels from hoarding our feeders. When have we ever walked out of a store with too much bird food? "Stocking up" the hub said like Dr. Doolittle. I should have taken up dying, as in vegetable and indigo with flour and water for the paste. Today I would be wearing designer collection tees and boasting about it on Instagram. 

We took a weekend road trip to the Laurentians, Mont Tremblant, and oops bought a cottage – chalet as the French call it. Afterward, we asked ourselves if this was a good way to pivot during a pandemic. The two-hour drive tuned into podcasts and playlists every other week through the landscape of country villages and stops at Jacques and Ginette's for pies and veggies kept us nourished in nature as much as the world discovered new life in the outdoors. But oops, I did it again with another rescue puppy in Tremblant. As I write this, Murphy is in a happy place with K & A, who keep me posted with updates.

The chalet purchase led to our cookie cutter townhouse for sale. Our agent and house stager took one look at our pallet of yellows, greens, and periwinkle blue walls and replaced them with a bland pale grey and faint blue. A week later, the 'vendu' shingle decorated the front snowbank. By the end of April, we'll pivot to the firs and pines in Tremblant, with pirouettes here and there in Ottawa and other parts of the country.

As we pull the plug on mandates like masks, travel requirements, and QR checks, I'm not sure if I can sing along with Dolly Parton's When life is good again, I'll be a better person/I'll open my heart and let the whole world in. I am, however, looking forward to watching all the ballerinas of the entire world pivot and pirouette on stage with no restrictions.