March 8, 2017

Hannah’s Big Award

Anybody that knows me, even from my earliest of days, knows that I really like art. I spent almost every recess in grammar school drawing cartoons with chalk and when I wasn’t cutting school in high school, you could usually find me in Charlie Morrongello’s art class. Without this thing that I loved so much I would probably have grown up to be a derelict or worse an accountant. So yeah, art is pretty important to me.

One of the things you most selfishly get to enjoy as a parent is the opportunity to see that spark of yourself grow within your own children. And most recently I saw this in Hannah. Even as a toddler, she took to drawing and painting and whatever she could get her hands on to color. You could imagine how excited I was to hear that she had won an art competition across her kindergarten grade. The picture she drew was of her first day coming into the world as a baby. I love that even though she is five, she looks back on being a baby as if that was her childhood compared to her grown-up self now. To hear that she made this the focus of her piece reminds me of why we adore her so.

Anyway, when we found this out, we made it a big deal…because it is a big deal. But what is really great is that this apparently was a big deal to her teacher and her school, and so much so that they had an awards ceremony this past week. While Hannah wasn’t the only winner, it was fantastic to see that she was being recognized.

As is ever my life I was on the road and had to miss this moment, but fortunately Jen and my father were able to send me pictures and the video while it was happening. It was great, she ran up there grabbed her award and rushed off the stage to give her sister (and best friend) Sophie a hug in the audience. She did have to come back up and shake the hands of the faculty who all got down on one knee to greet her.

Being a parent you naturally say that the thing you are proud of is your children. Mostly because of who they are and grow to be. However, when you get the chance to see them step out on their own and create their own legacy it is a pretty magical moment. For Hannah to express herself artistically and put herself out there it was amazing to beam with pride over her accomplishment. It’s the first step of many that she will take in shaping the world around her.

Anyway, if she ever gets the chance to read this blog I hope she’ll know just how proud she made me and her mother. Love that kid….