I want to share the greatest inspiration in my life right now. The woman I refer to as the original creative mama, my own mother Bev, who turned 80 this year. She has had many challenges being one of the first generation of women to get divorced in the ’70s and then raising four children as a single mother. When she left school she received a scholarship to university but was never supported by her father or husband as that was not the expected role for women at the time.
I remember my mother loved to write poetry and paint. She also instilled a love for reading in myself and all my brothers from a young age, and for which I am very thankful. In her fifties she went back to university to further her education and then started working as an English tutor helping countless children from varied backgrounds, where English was their second language, to pass their high school exams. She is so committed to education and despite our mother/daughter differences in the past, has always been my biggest supporter.
If I ever feel doubt I call her and she always says, ‘You can do it’.
BUT my mother has also been a hoarder for many years. I’m not sure if you understand what it is like to be around someone who collects and can’t let go. Perhaps you can identify this in yourself, your partner, neighbour, friends or family members. It is complex and can be confronting on many levels, for the hoarder and those around it.
What I want to share with you today, that after all these years of holding onto ‘stuff’, and not having the courage to let go, my mother, at 80 years old, is selling her house and actually getting rid of all her possessions hoarded over the years. She is making decisions that will improve her quality of life in so many ways and is thinking of ways to finally start a cooking book she has wanted to do for years. I am beyond proud and wanted you all to know that if there is something that you really want to do – write a book, start a blog, get your paints out, open your journal or drawing pad, paint, dance, enrol in a course – it’s never too late to start.
This is what Mama Creatives is all about, nurturing and supporting you back into your creative identity, being here as you continue your way, so you can flourish as a creative mama. This desire to encourage and support runs very deep, we don’t need to wait until we are 80 years old to make life changing decisions. Why not just start something this weekend, even if it’s for only 15-30 minutes. And if in doubt remember what Bev says, ‘You can do it’.
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