It is hard to believe that 24 years ago today, my daughter was born. I want to laugh sometimes when she tells me that she is getting old. If she is getting old, what does that make me? Ancient. I feel so blessed to have her living at home with us. To many people that sounds crazy. Our generation has been trained to believe that a child and the parents are failures if the adult child has to live at home after they have left. I see it as a gift.
Hannah left home at the age of 15 to go to a state supported boarding school for talented high school students who wanted to pursue the arts. She did extremely well in this environment and left for New York to go to college at NYU. After only a semester, she realized that she was tired of juggling both dance and academics and decided to leave school and pursue a career in the Big Apple. She was able to survive by teaching classes and working at odd jobs. After three years of living off the bare minimum, she moved home.
Since being home, she has been dancing for a company and pursuing her love for clay animation. She has taken over the upstairs and created a studio in one room and a place to sleep in the other. Just last year, I wrote a children’s book called Broccoli Trees. It is about a little boy who has terrible eating habits and doesn’t do well in school. After seeing a transformation by a friend, he decides to make some changes in his eating habits. Well, Hannah started illustrating the book by creating clay figures and taking pictures of them. We were moving right along with this project until she was asked by a rock band to do a clay animation video.
Now, she has begun to work on the book again. I am both excited and scared about when she finishes this project. I believe the unknown can be a very frightening state to be in. What will this book mean to my journey through the desert? Just like the Israelites who heard about the land of milk and honey, they were hesitant to go there. It was a lot easier for them to just stay put. That is exactly how I feel. I am very comfy being just where I am right now. But then again, what if this book is a way to step towards the Promised Land? Does God want me to publish this book as a way to move me into unchartered waters? I believe if it is meant to be, I will be given the tools and support to make it happen. Time will only tell.
If you want to explore Hannah’s work, visit her website at Hannahdarrah.com.