Shifting Routines as an Artist Mum

I have always told myself that if I were going to have a child, I would continue to pursue a career I want. In my head, it was easy. I liked tackling different things at the same time. I thought that managing projects and personal life as a childless person was the same as managing a career, a household, and a growing child — how bold my thoughts were!

Rapha is now doing 4 days a week at kindy, and I initially thought it was a good change. I will have more time. It’s more advantageous for me since it’s one more day I can do things independently. I forgot to factor in that I am a person of routine! As a creative person, it is difficult for me to just sit down and produce creative things on a whim. I need a lot of mental preparation to figure out what needs to get done for the day.

I used to swim, walk, do errands, and work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and it was a good setup since I had quiet days with Rapha in between. Rapha’s new kindy days are from Mondays to Thursdays since it establishes more stable expectations of the days’ activities for him.

This means that I will have to squeeze in my previous tasks into four consecutive days, without my usual breathing space in between! Now, I am scrambling because I did not anticipate how tired I would be if I kept that routine at that pace! It has been a month, and I am still trying variations of my workflow to suit my mental and physical capacity. I thrive in structure and routine because if I do not organise it, my mind goes places and I engage in tasks that bring me farther from my goal.

The thing I have learnt here is that life with a child is so exciting haha! It stretches me, and it teaches me to bend enough to make space for both of us to thrive. It is amazing what kinds of adjustments parents make to balance family life and their personal goals.

This might be a late appreciation post for mothers, but I have mad respect for all mothers out there, just trying, stretching, balancing, and loving, to make sure their families and children thrive! May God bless the works of your hands, and may relaxation come at some point 🙂