tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204727386532339291.post3040788313535400389..comments2023-12-10T13:16:58.731+09:00Comments on Axis of Abraxas: A Poetry Blog: A Parent's Reason for CreativityJessica Goodfellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07561656986278259434noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204727386532339291.post-88538334743303690202011-11-09T16:05:28.430+09:002011-11-09T16:05:28.430+09:00By the way, I was wildly paraphrasing on the Dilla...By the way, I was wildly paraphrasing on the Dillard story. If I go back and find it, it may be much different than I remember it.Jessica Goodfellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07561656986278259434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204727386532339291.post-42057409397995772112011-11-09T15:54:03.672+09:002011-11-09T15:54:03.672+09:00It would be easier, Tatjana, if our tools were cla...It would be easier, Tatjana, if our tools were clay or a paintbrush, something we don't use in our everyday lives, to signal to our kids what we are doing.<br /><br />I remember reading a quote from Annie Dillard where she said that as a kid when she was working on a project in the basement and she asked her parents if they wanted to come down and see it, they told her, No, dear, it's nice you have a project. Run along and work on it and leave us adults to our activities.<br /><br />And I was horrified. But Dillard wrote it was such a gift to her to learn from her mother that she was free to work on her projects and her parents were free to work on their projects, and everybody could be happy that way.<br /><br />It's still not how I relate to my kids, but it does help me when I feel guilty that I am working on my project while they are happily working on theirs, to remember that for some people, that kind of freedom is a gift.Jessica Goodfellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07561656986278259434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204727386532339291.post-51977809870793300322011-11-09T15:49:01.095+09:002011-11-09T15:49:01.095+09:00Tatjana,
You have a good point. I hadn't thoug...Tatjana,<br />You have a good point. I hadn't thought of that because I write in a notebook (or in certain colored notebooks) so my kids know when I am writing as opposed to when I am working (on the computer). Maybe you could hang something on the doorknob or from the back of your chair, something whimsical or book-related, and explain to your son that when he sees that, it's because you are writing your book. Some kind of signal so your son learns to associate the time you are writing with you working on your creative project. At age 2, he probably still won't get it, but it might be a start.Jessica Goodfellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07561656986278259434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204727386532339291.post-12717562485084808112011-11-09T15:18:13.508+09:002011-11-09T15:18:13.508+09:00I have also read quite a few articles on this same...I have also read quite a few articles on this same topic - being a role model for your kids, show them, don't tell, that same concept. And so many times when I feel, well, slightly overwhelmed, or maybe slightly out of control, I remind myself - OK, my son will learn this or that the way I learned it from my parents, simply by watching me. <br /><br />But, when my creative work is in question, I always have this thought (maybe because my son is only two): I am sitting at the computer writing or revising my stories while my son might be playing with my husband, I am doing something I love very much, I would like to show my son how important it is to find an hour or two or whatever time you have to devote to something that's meaningful to you, but I don't like the fact that all my son can see (and can fully understand at this age) is Mommy attached to a computer. I know this will get resolved when he gets just a little older, but, at this point, it's on my mind every time I sit down to write and my son can see me.Tatjanahttp://www.pebblemeddle.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com