As we finish week three of living in lockdown in Madrid, along with a good portion of the world (I read somewhere that a third of the global population is on “lockdown”), it seems like every few days we are needing redefine how to live at home. With the uncertainty of when our kiddo will be able to go back to school, or if she will go back at all this year; with the increased load of schoolwork the school plans to send; with the continued fear of going to the grocery store and rushing through the aisles like it’s a lightning round in Supermarket Sweep, I’’m not surprised we cannot sustain what we’ve been doing for the past twenty-something days. it’s as if we’ve passed the free trial period, and now we have to commit to a more mentally-and emotionally-sustainable subscription to this new life.
We have been safe, healthy, comfortable, and super well-fed (“probably a bit too well-fed,” would say our poor Ikea couch who definitely did not sign up for this overuse!), so we are some fo the fortunate and privileged families. So, at the beginning of quarantine, inspired by so many children’s book authors and illustrators, musicians and artists, I began a participating in my own version of Ame Dyckman and Charlene Chua’s Twitter initiative for illustrators and kids called “What Should I Draw” (@WhatDraw). I loved this idea and knew that it would be a way in which I could contribute. It has been so fun to turn the kids’ ideas into drawings, and even more so to then surprise them with the images. What I never expected was to receive comments not only from the parents but also comments from Instagram, Twitter and Facebook followers. Here’s a sampling of comments, which have been so rewarding and heartwarming to receive :
“These drawings are so delightful. Thank you for sharing them.” —Jennifer
“Stopppppppppp this is the best. Thank you!” —Catherine
“I can’t stop smiling…” —Amie
“So much joy in your work—thank you! —Elizabeth
“I love every single one of these!!!” Sheree
“This is super!” —Ben
“These all brought me joy.” —Kristen
“Thank you, the girls love all of these. I love all of these!” —Genevieve
“Oh my gosh—you totally made Mateo’s day! Thank you so much for making the world a better place!” —Laura
“We absolutely LOVE it!!!! Thank you! They both want to hang it in their rooms!”
—Sharyn
“That’s adorable, Carolina!” —Mary
“This is beautiful! I love it, I love it, I love it!!” —Elena
“That’s amazing!!!” —Michael
“Thanks, Carolina! It’s great! I love how you take an idea and add the details to it!” —Carissa
“@cpedrawza’s drawings from children’s requests are making my days brighter.” —Gina
“…he says ‘it is perfect!’” —Ebru
In my previous blog post from March 27, “Thinking of doing good in uncertain times” you can see the first group of drawings I did for friends’ kids. Here is the second batch…enjoy!
