This interview is so inspiring to me as a mother, as a creative person, and as a person embarking on a creative project of my own. My newsletter is the first time I've been in complete creative control of my writing — and it's amazing how motherhood is what inspired me to make the leap.
That’s so good to hear! I hope having creative control will help you feel grounded in other areas of life. Having something that’s all mine feels precious now!
Same here, Dacy! It feels like we're all collectively re-writing the rules about balancing tending and creativity as caregivers together, as we go. Which feels so much better than feeling like we have to follow rules (for what creative routines should look like, for where and how and how fast the work gets done, for the reasons why we should want to create in the first place) that were written for very different people, in a very different context.
I’m constantly amazed by how long a “rule” can dominate our thinking. Even if we intellectually know we want to do things in our own way, the way things have always been done or we were taught to think things should be done can be overpowering for decades beyond its original utility.
I love this interview and it reinforces so much of what’s cultivated for me as a mother when I take the space to do improv. This has tapped into a creative outlet for me that has become a mental meditation. It makes me a better person. To myself. And definitely for how I show up for my daughter. Thank you for this wonderful interview.
Thank you for sharing! I used to do improv too and I had a coach who encouraged me to bring that same open, present, creative spirit to motherhood. That has stayed with me even in the hard moments!
Sally, how cool that improv is your creative outlet. I definitely use my “yes and” muscles daily with my son. And improv seems like it would invite you to be radically present in the moment, and thus it would also offer meditative benefits. Thank you for sharing this!
I resonated with so much of this--especially about needing all the stars to align to create opportunities or follow up on scheduled activities. Health and childcare are so inconsistent in this stage of caregiving, it makes it feel difficult to plan anything!
Thanks for the softness and insight you both brought to this interview. 💗
It is so, so hard, Mariah. We've canceled our sitter like three weeks in a row because someone has been sick every.single.time. And we're lucky to even be able to afford that!
I definitely think that "consistency" looks different in this season of caregiving. I appreciate that Heidi got me to laugh about the fact that we ALL seem to want that cabin in the woods... and yet our creative lives often look more like voice memo-ing over the dishes. What does your creative life look like right now?
Okay, but really, I’d love to know what y’all would do with it. I would definitely sleep in, take very long walks, and probably only write half as much as I planned to, but still emerge very, very happy.
I would probably sleep and take walks. Tinker with manuscripts. But instead of try to finish something, really I would love to use the time to make something totally spontaneous and inspired by my time there. ✨
This interview is so inspiring to me as a mother, as a creative person, and as a person embarking on a creative project of my own. My newsletter is the first time I've been in complete creative control of my writing — and it's amazing how motherhood is what inspired me to make the leap.
That’s so good to hear! I hope having creative control will help you feel grounded in other areas of life. Having something that’s all mine feels precious now!
Definitely!
Hillary, I love that for you. And we're all enriched by what you've created for other caregivers!
Ryan!! Back at you ❤️❤️
I never tire of this topic!
Same here, Dacy! It feels like we're all collectively re-writing the rules about balancing tending and creativity as caregivers together, as we go. Which feels so much better than feeling like we have to follow rules (for what creative routines should look like, for where and how and how fast the work gets done, for the reasons why we should want to create in the first place) that were written for very different people, in a very different context.
I’m constantly amazed by how long a “rule” can dominate our thinking. Even if we intellectually know we want to do things in our own way, the way things have always been done or we were taught to think things should be done can be overpowering for decades beyond its original utility.
I always leave feeling less alone too. 💛
I love this interview and it reinforces so much of what’s cultivated for me as a mother when I take the space to do improv. This has tapped into a creative outlet for me that has become a mental meditation. It makes me a better person. To myself. And definitely for how I show up for my daughter. Thank you for this wonderful interview.
Thank you for sharing! I used to do improv too and I had a coach who encouraged me to bring that same open, present, creative spirit to motherhood. That has stayed with me even in the hard moments!
Really? That’s incredible! And yes, it’s a practice that truly helps so many facets of life.
Sally, how cool that improv is your creative outlet. I definitely use my “yes and” muscles daily with my son. And improv seems like it would invite you to be radically present in the moment, and thus it would also offer meditative benefits. Thank you for sharing this!
I resonated with so much of this--especially about needing all the stars to align to create opportunities or follow up on scheduled activities. Health and childcare are so inconsistent in this stage of caregiving, it makes it feel difficult to plan anything!
Thanks for the softness and insight you both brought to this interview. 💗
It is so, so hard, Mariah. We've canceled our sitter like three weeks in a row because someone has been sick every.single.time. And we're lucky to even be able to afford that!
I definitely think that "consistency" looks different in this season of caregiving. I appreciate that Heidi got me to laugh about the fact that we ALL seem to want that cabin in the woods... and yet our creative lives often look more like voice memo-ing over the dishes. What does your creative life look like right now?
Such an inspiring read, but I'd still like a week in a cabin to really focus ❤️.
Me tooooooo!!!! Think what we could do with it!!!
Okay, but really, I’d love to know what y’all would do with it. I would definitely sleep in, take very long walks, and probably only write half as much as I planned to, but still emerge very, very happy.
I would probably sleep and take walks. Tinker with manuscripts. But instead of try to finish something, really I would love to use the time to make something totally spontaneous and inspired by my time there. ✨