SPECIAL | feature
by Vicki Burdick, DT, Carmel, Indiana
IN MARCH OF 2020, THE CORONAVIRUS, WHICH HADN’T EVEN BEEN NAMED COVID-19 YET, WAS STARTING TO DOMINATE THE HEADLINES. At the same time, my 20-year-old daughter, Audrey, was offered her first professional ballet contract with The Cleveland Ballet. On March 16, 2020, Audrey signed the contract. On March 16, 2020, the world went into lockdown. My jubilation for her accomplishment turned to disappointment and fear. I was disappointed in the realization that after 17 years of training and auditioning, it was highly unlikely Audrey would get the chance to dance for the Cleveland Ballet in 2020, and if she was able to fulfill her contract, I was fearful to send my young daughter to a strange city where we knew no one. One by one, art institutions began to shut their doors indefinitely. Our hopes began to fade. Then, in mid-June of 2020, we received an email saying that The Cleveland Ballet was taking a different path, thinking outside the box, and making arrangements to bring ballet to Northeast Ohio in spite of the pandemic. Audrey was to report to the studio in three weeks! She and I looked at apartments online, but the reviews were less than stellar and we didn’t know the city well enough to know where to even look. With the ballet offices closed during that time, we were basically on our own to figure it out. I knew that, like the Cleveland Ballet, I had to think outside the box. As every mom knows, there is nothing more precious than your children. You worry for their health, safety and happiness. I agonized over what to do and wondered who I could trust with my child’s wellbeing. One answer quickly came to my mind, my P.E.O. sisters. I immediately went on the P.E.O. International website and searched the directory for all the P.E.O. chapters in Cleveland, Ohio. I then emailed every Cleveland P.E.O. chapter president and explained my situation. Within minutes I heard back from 90 percent of the chapters and within just hours, I heard back from them all. I am brought to tears as I remember reading the emails. The presidents immediately forwarded my request to their chapters and soon chapter members from all over Northeast Ohio began emailing and calling me offering rooms in their homes, their rental properties and anything we could possibly need. One P.E.O. sister, Ellen Bartz, Q, Cleveland, Ohio, called to tell me that she had a duplex rental that was available just 15 minutes from the ballet studio. Ellen, a mom to children close in age to mine, understood my trepidation and put my mind at ease. The following week, Audrey, my husband, Brandt, and I met Ellen at the duplex. God had answered our prayers. It was a beautiful home in an amazing location and her landlord would be a P.E.O. so I knew she would be taken care of like I would take care of her. Over the last year, Ellen has become one of my dearest friends. She has looked after Audrey like only a mother would. She regularly checks in on her, invites her to events, brings her food and always shows her love and kindness. She is the true definition of what it means to be a P.E.O. sister. Audrey is now thriving in Cleveland. She loves the city and her home. I feel comfort knowing she is exactly where she is supposed
© Jason Lavengood
© Jason Lavengood
to be and thanks to some creative thinking by the Cleveland Ballet, and the generosity of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, Audrey is truly living her dream.
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January–February 2022 | THE P.E.O. RECORD
WWW.PEOINTERNATIONAL.ORG
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