Before I had kids, I wasn’t sure how motherhood would affect my art. The realist side of me wondered if I would still have time for art. The pessimist side of me thought I might have to give up my art altogether. The optimistic side of me thought I would seamlessly integrate motherhood into my art, and my art into motherhood.
3.5 years later, I think we all can agree that nothing about motherhood is seamless.
But the good news is: I am still a mom, and I still make art. The two do not coexist perfectly, but they coexist and that’s enough. There is tension there; sometimes it pulls lightly and sometimes it’s a full blown tug-of-war. I am only one person with two hands and there are only 24 hours in the day. I wear all my hats as best I can, sometimes layering a few on top of each other and sometimes swapping one for another as I run out the door, trading a loose diaper in my purse for a computer charger.
Today is the last day of a long weekend filled with shopping discounts. Maybe you’re on top of things this year and have already finished Christmas shopping. Maybe you’re like me and just getting started. Maybe you haven’t thought about it at all.
Can I ask you something?
Are you buying anything from your fellow mommas this holiday season?
You know the ones I’m talking about. The mommas making coffee mugs and art prints and t-shirts and jewelry. The ones with dining room tables full of shipping supplies. The ones who sit down after the kids are in bed to design and dream and create things with their hands and run full blown shops from their beds.
Just look around. We’re everywhere.
We have this thing in common, us momma makers, because our go-to mode is hustle. We know how to hammer out eight e-mails over breakfast and how to type a blog post into our phones while we nurse our baby to sleep. We know how to brainstorm under pressure and how to dream in the shower. We know how to make the most of every minute, every hour, every second that our hands are free. We know creating is our gift to each other, to our kids, and to the world.
We also know the uneven balance of creating art while caring for our children; it’s a constant see-saw, that tension between honoring our family and honoring our talent and allowing both to coexist and breathe.
We know the perseverance and dedication it requires to open our laptops night after night after the kids are in bed instead of falling on the couch with a Netflix binge. (But damn, it feels so good to do that sometimes, amen?)
We know the guilt, the stress, the tiredness, the overwhelming nature of being moms and wives and makers and shop owners.
Can I ask you again….?
Are you buying anything from your fellow mommas this holiday season?
Maybe this year we could do more of that, and less of Target (and you know I love me some Target). Maybe this year we can cheer each other on and pin each other’s creations. Maybe this year we can support each other with both our words and our dollars.
Join me, won’t you?
***
A few mommas to support this holiday…..
The Caramel Jar
Max & Moose
Rainy Day Colors
Bitte
and of course, yours truly,
Coffee + Crumbs (our calendar launches tomorrow!!)
***
*These are just a few shops I follow on Instagram. If you’d like to recommend any momma makers for this list, leave a comment and I’ll keep this post updated throughout the day.
