yesterday i was thinking and asking about how we as mamas find time to do those things that allow us space for the things we are passionate about, those things that fill our buckets, keep us afloat amid the busy-ness that is being a mama. for me it's the need to follow my creative thread into image making, print making, knitting, sewing, writing, spinning, gardening. some of these things, like gardening fit seamlessly into our lives but for many of my other passions i've been discovering that my efforts of finding a time and space to follow them have been falling in a big heap of late. to some degree i'm still trying to figure out whether it's an offshoot of sleep deprivation, the daylight saving lag effect that always seems to take a little adjusting to at this time of year or whether it's a time thing. finding the time amid our full days. since putting it out there yesterday i've been pondering the ways in which i mould our days so we can all follow our inspiration but more specifically what elements i need in place so as i can seize inspiration when it strikes. my days of having a studio space separate from our home have gone underground for the moment so i've had to rethink and readjust. rethink and readjust my attitude. for the first few months of having niamh here with us i could feel myself pushing against this feeling of out of controlness, the domesticity of my days, the relentlessness of it all. where had that space to create gone? but that pushing just made it harder for me. as soon as i let go and started riding that wave i felt happier and more at peace with how things were rolling. there is acceptance among the frustration now but there is certainly no room for complacency. i don't say "this is my lot and this is how it's going to be", because i have choices every moment of the day. i choose not to watch tv in favour of reaching for my needles, or making it here. i choose to go to bed early so that i have more energy and focus for tomorrow to find that scrap of paper to scribble down an idea before it vanishes. i choose to home educate so that we can live creatively, shape our days to suit our passions. i choose and welcome flexibility so that if it doesn't get done right now my knickers don't get in a knot. sometimes we just need reminders like charisse's beautiful words yesterday, that our children are our creative lives. i know that, sometimes it simply gets lost amid the laundry and meal prep and all those other hundreds of things that we mama's are working on. i'm in love with the idea of finding out more about why women have the drive to create and how they make it part of their everyday. it really intrigues me. so i'm launching a project called the art of motherhood. i'm really excited about it and i start this friday.
