Into the World

 

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

Into the World

Into the World

Into the World came to me as a complete image that appeared in my head one day.  I looked at my then-sixteen-year-old son, Jonah – and suddenly the full realization that he would soon be leaving home struck me.  His childhood was almost over, and soon he would pass beyond my daily world – beyond my sphere of influence, beyond my ability to guide or protect him.  His life was already so much his own.  While he still lived under my roof, he was already reaching out into the world beyond me, already surpassing me in computer skills, certain academic subjects, and familiarity with mainstream media that I had not heard of.  He appeared in the painting with both hands extended through the transparent boundaries of his childhood.

Close behind was my older daughter Eve.  At fourteen, she too was already reaching beyond her childhood world, into the realm of her social peers, of teenage trends, movies and places unknown to me.  At the same time, she was still within my world, still childlike for a little while longer.  She appeared in the image with one arm within and one reaching beyond mother’s world.

My youngest child, three years old at the time, was still entirely contained in her childhood world, with both hands and all of her being still within the mother’s realm . . . but she reaches out already, within those confines, inexorably on her way out.

The passage of time I felt as a mother crystallized into this small painting in gouache and ink.  What was once in the future was nearly upon me.  I felt the great wheel of time groaning as it heaved itself forward palpably.

How quickly they grow up and make their way into the world!  Ten years after painting this image, my two older kids have been out of my house for nearly a decade; and at age thirteen, my youngest has just crossed the threshold of becoming a bat mitzvah.  Her eager arms reach out as my daughter yearns for the world beyond her childhood home.

Soon enough, I tell her.   Too soon, for me.

Order Into the World as a POSTER this week, and get a free greeting card (of the same image)!   $10 for the poster and card, shipping included.  Order your poster here!

Wishing you a good week,

D Yael Bernhard
http://dyaelbernhard.com
Author / Illustrator of
JUST LIKE ME, CLIMBING A TREE: Exploring Trees Around the World – new!! 
THE JEWISH EYE 5776/2015 – calendar of art – new!
NEVER SAY A MEAN WORD AGAIN – A Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review;
winner of the Sydney Taylor Award and National Jewish Book Council Award
THE DREIDEL THAT WOULDN’T SPIN – A Toyshop Tale of Hanukkah
WHILE YOU ARE SLEEPING – A Children’s Book Council Notable Book
GREEN BIBLE STORIES FOR CHILDREN – Nat’l Green Book Festival Notable Book
A RIDE ON MOTHER’S BACK – An American Bookseller Assoc. Pick of the List
– and more!

 

 

 

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