Walking Away, Horsing Around- Blackbird, Fly

photo credit-  The Arts House

At our last meeting above, W expressed that they are looking forward to working with me on my next piece.  I am truly grateful for such belief, especially as I am no longer fully in Singapore and definitely not pushing the frontiers of dance anymore.

photo credit- Desmond Chong, Then.  A-Team in rehearsal :)

I think you get to an age, and when you walk away from something that has defined you for so long, there is a peace that comes with knowing who you are, what you have done, what you can do, and what you won't do now, but what you might just do, later.

photo credit- TY Choo.  Maybe, later.  A-Team in rehearsal.

Summie and I were singing in the park-

Blackbird singing in the dead of night...

She turned to me and said- Mom, that was a beautiful piece.  I look forward to watching you dance again!

I was surprised.  Really?

Yes, Mom.  I don't believe you've fully retired from the stage.

I had a good laugh.  You're so smart, I said.

photo credit-  Desmond Chong

Blackbird singing in the dead of night,

Take these broken wings and learn to fly....

Another surprise awaited me when I got to the yard this morning.

I was given a medal!  Instead of saying, "Special" (aka, "LAST"), it said, "Winner"!

Then I was told I was "the rider of the month".  What a fantastic, fun surprise!  I couldn't stop laughing and smiling!  

Laughing and Smiling!

All morning my body felt it was bubbling over with  joy.  The trees, the falling leaves, the amazing Dumpling horse.  Sometimes joy is so hard to contain.

YEAH!

For four years I had steadfastly worked at overcoming a paralysing fear.  It was only this past New Year's Eve that I felt finally free.  That fear had inhabited me in such a suffocating, concrete shape.   

Blackbird singing in the dead of night.

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life...

The Montblanc Businesswoman of the Year Award puzzled me.  The Young Artist Award was humbling, and a national honour that made this displaced Singaporean-born artist, Stand Up, for a moment, For Singapore.  The Chancellor's Fellowship was earth-shattering; there was no other way I could have gone back to school then.

But this little accolade today?  For some reason feels like flight.  I hold it in my palm and see, a beginning, my beginning.  I have another dream.  I'm in no hurry because Summie is The Priority now.  But get there, I will.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night,

Take these broken wings and learn to fly.

All your life...

You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird, fly.  Blackbird, fly...

(Blackbird, Paul McCartney)