I was invited to share a story about ‘motherhood’ as part of the most recent Feminartsy story share. Having never been to a story share before I had no idea what to expect but enjoyed the process of having to clarify and articulate some of my muddled thoughts about my mothering experience so far. If you’re interested, here’s a transcript of my talk…

When I was 13 I got a C- for a high school art assignment. As a pretty much straight-A student from a family that put a high value on academic achievement, this came as a bit of a shock and disappointment. That it was for a self-portrait just added a further dent to my delicate teenage self confidence. In art class I didn’t know what I had to do to get an A, and even if I did, I didn’t feel capable of doing it. From that point on I declared myself unartistic, and decided to focus, at least academically, on maths and the sciences. Subjects where there was a right answer, and that I knew that if I could figure out what answer was I would achieve ‘success’.

Soon after I became a mum I again found myself longing for a right answer. I wanted a text book with formulas that if applied correctly would produce the right result. Clear KPIs and logical processes for achieving them. In those early days of life as a new mum, it was a huge shock to find that this little human didn’t come with a manual. I desperately trawled forums and books looking for the products, processes and techniques that I could use to produce a guaranteed, consistent, correct result.  [Read more…]