"This morning in ballet class, my right big toe joint hurt more than usual. In fact, this pain has been with me since a long time, and it hides a memorable story.....
When I was young in Hong Kong, my family would go to my grandmother's place in Kwai Fong every Saturday evening. Back then, we didn't have much homework. There were also no smartphones, no GameBoys, no PSPs nor the other electronic goods on which we spend and waste so much time today! That was where my sister and I would meet our cousins with whom we have always been very close. Adults used to have their own discussions and entertainments which left the children very bored...... Because of that, we would go out and play in the public area outside the flat situated on the 23rd floor of the traditional hong kong residential building. There, we would play football, basketball, hiding games, kungfu...... etc. All you can imagine!
One day, we went out playing together as usual while the adults stayed inside the flat. I can't remember what we were doing exactly but I had to open a door that my sister and my cousin were pushing against at the other side. I kicked the door with all my force!!!!!! .........and probably torn my big toe flexor. That was one of my first injuries, and I nor my parents took that seriously.
I was very scared and worried about my coaching session in Kowloon Bay the next day for a ballet competition in Hong Kong. Very innocent, I thought that the pain would just go away after one night of good sleep.... and of course it didn't, to my great disappointment. My mother, very worried and probably had the same hope, tried to move my big toe while I was still sleeping. I woke up immediately because of the pain, which left my mother with a very worried expression of which I still have a clear image today.
The next day, I went to the coaching as if nothing happened. Extremely in pain, I had tears in my eyes while dancing. After the coaching, relieved, I gave my mother a big hug. We went to McDonald's for lunch in a commercial center nearby. After lunch, once we left the restaurant, I rose on demi-pointe and said "Mom, I really have to tell you this, actually, I lied to you, I don't feel pain anymore!"
What I want to share with you today is my mother's expression at this moment: joyful and surprised, then disappointed again after slight reflection. "If only this is true......... you woke up in pain when I slightly moved your big toe this morning.........."