Creative Rainbow Mama

[Note: I wrote this 2 months ago]

Husna turned 3 months! Alhamdulilah, can’t believe it’s already been 12 weeks. I’m writing this while Taskeen is in the garden and Husna is napping. Let’s see how far I get.

I took this picture a few Wednesdays ago. That was one blissful morning of reading, journalling and sipping on tea – alone. And of course, eating a gigantic meal because breastfeeding hunger is real.

If your’e a creative mama who wonders if she’ll ever write/paint/craft/sculpt again – READ THIS BOOK. I can’t stress that enough. You’ll probably be interrupted and it’ll take you a while to get through it, but it’s so worthwhile.

Thank you, Lucy Pearce, for writing such a wonderful, paradigm-shifting and nourishing book. It made me realise the most commonly known mother archetype, Earth Mother, is not better or worse than the lesser known archetype – Creative Rainbow Mother. I still love to nurture my daughters, bake, cook and so on….I just also really crave and need that quiet time and space to nurture my own creativity. I’m a lot less cranky afterwards.

I remember wondering if I would ever write again, when Taskeen was first born. I did get to journal, and still do, but I guess I was really shocked at how little time I had left over for writing. I’ve realised now the key to writing while in the trenches of newborn life (and now, newborn and toddler life) is flexibility. And lots of self-compassion. Take what you can get! 10 minutes of writing is better than nothing at all. But on those super bad days when it’s meltdown after meltdown…it’s OK to just rest, recover, and prepare of the next day.

Second-time around, with Husna, I’m a lot more accepting of the shocking newborn stage. Surprisingly, the hardest adjustment hasn’t been the sleep deprivation. It’s Taskeen’s very strong feelings about her sister. There are the heart-melting “Awwww!” moments, and there are the “Don’t do that!” moments. My spirited toddler has very, very strong feelings, and every day, I get a lot of opportunities to help her learn how to cope. (This is motherspeak for EVERY DAY FEELS SO LONG AND WHEN WILL IRFAN COME HOME?!) Sigh. Emotional regulation. So important.

Are you also a Creative Rainbow Mama? How do you carve out time to create? Drop me a line. I would love to hear your story.