The Struggle of Balancing ME and Motherhood

Retro

As a mother and an artist, I often catch myself trying to balance my passion for painting and caring for my son. I dread not being able to paint at some point during the day. It's a good way to force myself to grow as an artist, and I do enjoy the process. But when my son falls sick and I don't get much time to paint, it's a real struggle. I end up feeling like a selfish person for wanting time to paint.

But at the end of the day, is it REALLY selfishness?

Painting helps me stay sane. Painting helps me be a good person. Painting helps me reflect on relationships. Painting helps me stay elevated yet grounded. Painting helps me hold onto a part of myself, even through parenthood. Painting has finally helped me support the financial side a bit. So why should it be selfish to want to paint?

I still struggle sometimes with the thought, “Is it selfish to want to paint?”

Gradually over time, I have become more certain about creating time for my creative output and prioritizing it. Being consistent with the time to create and building weight on this practice has lessened this thought of art practice as a selfish act. I'm happy that I have come a long way in the right direction.

I hope you can reflect on the things you love doing—the things you feel passionate about. Allow yourself to put time into it and be proud that you have something in life that you feel so much about.
And most importantly, I hope you keep going.