Mom-ing It As An Artist
How to do it all!
How does one do it all? Running a small business as a working artist, a parent, a human being with limitations…
The short answer is: I don’t. 🙃
I’ll paint you a picture.
It’s a Monday, my kid’s home sick with a fever that’s lasted three days. I’ve recently torn my ACL. I have shop orders that need to be mailed out, and a major rain storm is beginning to hit the area.
But I have a plan!!
I pull on a knee brace, I mask up my kid, and we hurry to the post office before the rain gets any worse.
Umbrella’s up!
We hobble inside, wait briefly in line, and my son - who has not had any prior tummy issues - promptly vomits into the post office trash can.
We hurry back out of the post office, un-mailed packages in tow, and drive instead to the doctor’s office.
I have come to learn that no matter how meticulous the preparations or exacting the execution, sometimes (most of the time) things just don’t go according to plan. And I’ve learned to roll with it. To skip past exasperation, straight to a chuckle when - no matter how hard I’ve tried to make something happen - the universe says “nope!” and the universe gets its way.
Of course, sometimes there are major disappointments, and letting go for a little while is the only option. (Like tearing an ACL. 😬)
Other times, something feels like a big deal in the moment, but getting the train back on track really only requires a small pivot. (Like acknowledging that a day’s delay in shipping is not the end of the world… that I’ll be able to go back to the post office the next day.)
And sometimes there are completely unplanned moments that, if I’m open to them, can bring a bright dollop of unexpected joy. (Like getting some quality on-on-one time with my under-the-weather kid: snuggling up and listening to him giggle as I read aloud Ramona The Pest by Beverly Clearly.)
Despite all of the pivoting and letting go that the past few weeks have required though, I was able to find the time to make an illustration that’s been sitting in my sketches for a while now, patiently waiting to be brought to life:
And here’s the final piece once it all came together:
If one must be confined to the couch with an injured knee, it might as well be with the company of a cozy new friend. The next task on the scheduling to-do list is to find a “convenient” time for knee surgery, but until then, it’s back to business-as-usual, no matter how unpredictable that may be.
Also, I’m happy to say that attempt #2 of going to the post office was a success, and that all of the pre-orders for my print The Future are on their way to out into the world!
You can now purchase this 8”x10” print in my shop, and just a reminder that I am donating all of the profits to the Harris Victory Fund.
Stay cozy everyone! 💛
-agc
I’m so sorry about your knee; it must be so painful!