anything but ordinary

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt

My oldest started kindergarten earlier this month. The anticipation for this momentous day had been building all summer. And by building, I mean me excitedly and confidently telling my daughter, everyday prior to THE day,  just how much of a big deal the first day would be.

I don’t know how it is for most, but I’ve definitely been the type to get excited for summer’s end with a fresh start to a new school year.  The weather starts changing to pleasant temperatures. If you are lucky like me, your mother takes you back-to-school shopping for supplies and more importantly, some fun new clothes to wear. You look forward to seeing all those school friends you haven’t seen all summer.  New teachers, new classes and new books to crack open.

After high school, my back-to-school season excitement continued in college with the anticipation of moving into a new dormitory, receiving the fall semester paper course catalogue (I know I’m dating myself) and me happily choosing classes according to their course descriptions. Football games, homecoming, and more new textbooks to dive into. Even after university, once I entered the art world workforce, the fall season was always filled with anticipatory emotions. Refreshed from summer holiday, my coworkers and I were back at it installing the fall exhibition and gallery hopping from opening to opening those first weeks in September. The city was abuzz and bubbling with art talk and I couldn’t help getting caught up in it all.

Although grade school, university and gallery life is in my past, this time of year never fails to lift my spirits. And, I can happily say this level of enthusiasm has been passed down to my daughter. We have poured over catalogues and clicked through pages of online stores to find the perfect backpack and lunch box. We spent a good hour putting together the perfect first-day-of-school outfit. We had dozens and dozens of conversations about the school bus ride, her new teacher, lunch in the cafeteria, and meeting new classmates.

I would ask her from time to time, are you nervous? excited? scared??? The answer was always excited, excited, excited.  And right there it is. My daughter has an assuredness I never had. All of five-years-old, and she embraces the unknown. Yes, I loved the start of a new school year, but at five-years-old I remember how awkward, shy and nervous I felt to be doing something on my own without my mother’s confident hand.  I can’t say I saw or felt a moment where my daughter wasn’t ready. She hopped on that bus to a new school with a quick good-bye. She sat down to class ready even though she knew not what to expect or what her teacher and classmates would be like. She left beaming with a smile on her face and came home with an even bigger smile full of enthusiasm of what will be her new routine.  She gives me courage.

Which brings me to a new book my daughter and I have read over and over again these last few weeks, Anything But Ordinary Addie: The True Story of Adelaide Herrmann, Queen of Magic written by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Iacopo Bruno.

My daughter’s interest of late has been magic after watching some YouTube videos on the subject. This book was a perfect find at our town library.

It tells of the true story of Adelaide Herrmann one of the first female magicians.  Its beautiful illustrations brilliantly depict the ambitions of a young girl who was “anything but ordinary” and wanted to do and be something great. She aspired to “astonish, shock and dazzle” her audiences. She did just that becoming a master magician and entertainer.

My daughter truly loves flipping through the book for the pictures. She told me the illustrations remind her of paper doll cutouts. I love how vibrant each illustration is providing a unique format to tell the story of Ms. Herrmann.

This is an empowering story for young girls. It celebrates a brave, determined girl who becomes an accomplished woman in a male-dominated profession. Ms. Herrmann never let anyone tell her she couldn’t because of her gender. She conquered her anxieties at a moment when she knew it was important for her to push through the fear for a greater good. Ms. Herrmann reminds me a lot of someone I know.