The World Turned Upside Down ~ The Story of the Class of 2020

I graduated high school in 1998. The world had been laid at my feet, whether I knew it or not at that time, and I was preparing to step over the edge and enter “adulting”. Officially.

But first, I got to experience the requisite rites of passage afforded to most Seniors during their last year of high school.
I went to my prom. We didn’t stay very long. I wore a vintage black dress a la Courtney Love, my idol at the time. Yeah. I was 17. I thought I looked pretty dope (we said dope then).
We took our final tests. My friends got their college acceptance packages back before all of that was done online.
We compared ACT test scores and some of us attended or played our last football, basketball, or soccer games. (Not this girl. I was more of the “skip the pep rally to go sit a IHOP and drink copious amounts of coffee” type).
We walked across the stage, we switched our tassels, we bid farewell to people we felt like we had known forever.

We probably felt like our world was being turned upside down.

This year’s graduating seniors were born in 2001/2002/2003….right on the heels of 9/11. A time when everything changed for our country. For the world. They don’t know of or remember a time when you could bid farewell to your loved ones at an airline gate. When you didn’t have to bother taking your shoes off at security They don’t know what it was like to watch that disaster live on television and feel utterly helpless. They don’t recall the somber cloud that hung over the country for years following.

Everything for them was post-9/11

Now, here we are. We find ourselves in a world TRULY turned upside down. No one, unless they are very, very old, has lived through a time like this before. Where everything has ground to a halt. Where the rites of passage afforded to millions of kids over the years have been stripped away. Where all we have now is uncertainty and questions.

I didn’t know it then, but the Seniors I photographed last year will always be a special group. They are the kids who didn’t get the walk across the stage, didn’t get to dance at their prom, didn’t get to perform in that final school musical, and will NEVER forget what it was like to lose all of that.

These are the post-9/11 kids living through COVID-19. Their world turned upside down. The stories they will have to tell will be incredible. Because someday this will just be a story you pass down to your kids when you want them to realize how freaking lucky they are that THEY’RE not quarantined with their whole family in one house for weeks with no end in sight. This is gonna be your “I walked 20 miles in the snow each way to school and back” story. This is your “Grandma lived through the Depression and that’s why she pickles pigs feet” tale.

It gives me a small amount of comfort to know that someday, hopefully soon, this will all just be in the past and be a story we tell.

So I wanted to just celebrate this special group here. Congratulations to Sara, Olivia, Lauren, Ryan, Josh, Grace, Spencer, Maiya, Craig, and Sophie. I wish you SO much luck in the future!

Fractured Thoughts ~ COVID-19 Lockdown ~ Volume 3

Oh kiddos.

Guys, I was so looking forward to 2020. Seriously, after the year we had in 2019, 2020 was so chock full of promise. Trips, new adventures, ideas…….

Blarg. That’s my only word for this whole thing. BLARRRRGGG.

But, we’ve settled into a…..not quite a routine here in the Reseburg household….more like a reluctant acceptance of whatever comes about.

My summer is now devoid of weddings. Which is so bizarre I can’t even begin to think about it. Disney was cancelled. I cancelled my Canada trip. We have tickets for Dear Evan Hansen in July. Probably cancelled.

BUT, rather than dwell on the “not gonna happens”….I’m choosing to focus on the glass-half-full part of things. At least for the contents of this particular blog.

SO….to regain some sense of normalcy, let’s talk about the good….

LISTENING TO: Since I haven’t been in my car, I haven’t really been listening to anything new. I have happened upon a YouTube channel called Weird History that I rather like.
We’ve been trying to introduce the girls to some new music from our bygone days. We listened to Goldfinger and Nirvana this week while we hung out, hoping they would enjoy it just a little bit. Time will tell.

WATCHING: I feel like we’ve reached the end of all TV. YouTube included. The boredom has overtaken us some days. If I had to watch ONE MORE thing I would scream. I’ve gotten through a litany of whole seasons of various shows: We, of course, binge watched Tiger King with the rest of the world (it IS as bonkers as everyone says). I binged AfterLife on Netflix, second season. Also very good. My husband got his hands on the entire series of Road to Avonlea for me, so I’ve been watching that here and there as of late. It’s right up my “soft-focus, Canadian turn-of-the-century period drama loving” alley. I had never watched the series before, so I’m enjoying diving in to something new.

The BIGGEST news on the entertainment front, however, was released today. Hamilton the Movie is coming out EARLY on July 3rd and I just don’t know how I’m going to be patient until then. Seeing Hamilton live was pretty much a religious experience for me (and I’m not being sarcastic at all, I outright sobbed through most of it). I cannot WAIT to see the recorded version of the OBC.

READING: Let’s be real. The only thing I’ve been reading lately is Reddit postings. Sigh.

But, it’s ok.
I’ve told myself it’s ok if the only thing good I do all day is make sure my children brush their teeth at least once. None of us have EVER been through this kind of thing before. There’s no manual on how you’re supposed to act, really. I’m just trying not to lose it on the daily.

We’ve tried to pay heed to the little things. We found a nest of baby bunnies in our garden (of course, being that we live in the woods, the baby bunnies were gone this morning and all that remained was some blood splatter….and truly…..we live in a dystopia).

I just really, really, REALLY want to get back to work.

So, that being said, the “Badger Bounce Back” program for re-opening the state has said that I can shoot. Outside, for now. And maintaining social distancing. So, that mean Seniors and families, you can feel free to schedule for this summer. I am keeping the “Spring Forward” 50% off special up until the end of May. So, you can not only schedule but you can do so at a discount (www.typeaimages.com/store)

As for weddings, I am offering a wedding special for anyone who would like to still get married under the current guidelines. Currently, those guidelines state 10 or less people attending and social distancing taking place. Shoot me a contact form and we can talk about special packages for these situations.

I am booking for 2021 as normal.

I’ve made some much-needed updates to the website and hopefully all of us in the arts and the wedding industry will be able to weather this weird-ass time.

Hang in there, friends.