Once Upon a Time…

Mango trench (similar)
Mavi jeans (c/o)
Aldo boots
APC handbag
Anthropologie beret
Coutu Kitsch necklace (similar)
Linjer rings (c/o) (similar)
Aurate New York ring (c/o)
Location: The Manitoba Legislature – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Once upon a time, we were in the habit of spontaneously dashing out of our apartment, cameras in hand, to take, “a few quick photos.” Sometimes, that was all it was; others times, it turned into a walk to our favourite local wine bar for a glass of chilled white with a side of potato chips. We thought nothing of it, because once, not long ago, it was normal to leave home without forethought or planning.

It’s only been four weeks, but that life, the one I’d never questionned or considered could change, feels like forever ago.

We were just back from Chicago when we took these photos. I did not appreciate what a privilege it was to be able to freely go outside when we did. It was cold and windy, not at all the weather the weather the morning forecast had promised. My hands quickly reddened with cold. “Maybe we should just reshoot again next weekend,” Ian offered.

I declined, sure that of the hundred shots we’d taken before the wind got the better of me, we’d have four or five that I liked. By next weekend, I was certain, I would have another outfit on my mind, somewhere else I wanted to go, something else I wanted to capture. I took for granted that would be possible. That was something I did quite routinely, once upon a time. Something that we all did.

But that next weekend never came. The days of the week passed, of course. Time didn’t stop moving. But in the days after these photos, our lives fundamentally changed.

…halfway through the following week, I was frantically making arrangements for my few office-based staff members to be set up with home work stations. I made a trip to the grocery store over the weekend, along with, it seemed everyone else in the city. The shelves in many aisles were already empty as other shoppers began, somewhat inexplicably, to hoard essentials. Afterwards, I came inside, washed my hands and everything I’d worn. That was it. The end of everything I’d known to be normal for my first thirty-four years on the planet.

Since then, I’ve been mostly inside. We’ve reinvented the corners of our apartment time and again to capture photos in new ways without actually leaving the house, a possibility I would never have considered before. Once upon a time, I didn’t need to consider it – but with the outdoors now off limits, we’ve been forced to get creative. In some ways, it’s pushed the boundaries of my creativity. In others, it’s made me wonder just how much more creative I can be before the possibilities that a thousand square feet offer simply run out. I see my friends on FaceTime. It’s become almost normal already – because we’re resilient, we adjust, we find ways to make the abnormal normal. So much so that we can almost forget what normal felt like.

Almost, but not quite. I still miss hastily made spontaneous plans. And even if this crazy new life is normal for now, I can’t wait to be able to describe them without using the words, “Once upon a time…”

Shop the Post