Today is a day to celebrate Mothers, and I celebrate one of my favorite people today.  I recently read a great article: "things creative people do differently than the rest". I related to a lot of the key points, and thought a lot about how they were instilled in me at a young age by my mom.

Growing up, if you were to come to our little compound on the lake in the summertime, this is what our moms looked like. Many of us aspired (and still do) to become "dock moms".  Books, laughter, story telling, drinking Tab and hanging with friends and raising kids together. We saw our moms as a team, and everyone had free reign to discipline each others kids. Kids were always around, but there were no parents hovering over what you were doing. We were in charge of entertaining ourselves, and bored might as well have been a four letter word if it came out of one of our mouths. Dogs have always been part of the picture, but they knew if they crossed the line to the edge of the dock to shake after a swim, they'd be relocated elsewhere.  Rules and boundaries were a factor, but freedom is what it felt like.

They love. Everything. They love life, they love people, they love emotions, they love animals, they love beauty. They can stay in silence watching the most beautiful sunset they’ve ever seen, or be excited for the next big art exhibit in town.
 

Here I am with 4 generations of creative women! I am in the middle with my mom, grandmother, and great grandmother.  People in my family do grow older, like everyone else, but they all manage to stay young at heart regardless of their age, and my mom is no exception. I remember one time my husband saw her drivers license and whispered to me, "Do you know your mom is wearing pig tails in her license"? Of course I wasn't the least bit surprised and responded, "and yours Isn't?"  A new friend just used the word "lady" to describe me, and I was sort of taken aback, not because she was wrong, but because I still feel like a teenager myself.

There’s a part of them that never grows up, and maybe this is the real secret, observing the world with the eyes of a child.
 

My mom has always had a sense of adventure. She can jump in the car at the drop of a hat to go see a full moon, sunset, new real estate listing, or a party.  She's up for new challenges, and seeing the world in a new way.  I am aware of the fact that this is the geekiest picture ever, but there's something I also really love about it. All of our willingness to look super lame as we embarked on an 11 mile Segway tour of Chicago. I surprised my Mom and Step Dad with this, and the guide made my mom be the first in line the whole time to keep an eye on her, but she was game, and it was such a fun memory and cool way to see the city.

Creatives need to be stimulated to stay that way. Is there a better way to escape from routine by trying something you've never done before?
 

Ok, first of all, why can't I find cute shirts like this one, now? Here we are together, not sure why I'm hoarding two hot dogs, but my dress sure looks like it could be a bennison! Sorry about the wardrobe malfunction there, Syb.

They are here, but they’re not. They can fly away with their mind at any given moment during a conversation. Don’t be mad at them, it’s just the way they are.

Right before I left to go start the school year when we moved to Grand Rapids, we squeezed in one last family golf game. We were on a par 3, where the green is way above the tee. We got to the top, and there was my mom's ball in the hole. Her first hole in one, and we were all there to celebrate.

Life it’s not always easy for a creative, especially for the professional ones. They will fail one thousand times in their life, then they will rise and succeed, only to fail again. Every creative, even the most successful ones, have failed and have been rejected one million times. But they finally did it.

No quote is more suitable than this one:

It’s said that creative people are more likely to worry less about problems and take more risks. This can bring a thousand fails, but a million satisfactions.

This is something we both share. We try, try, try and never give up. My mom has had a successful creative career following her instincts, dreams, heart, and all with determination.  I love that I am now following in her footsteps to pursue my own creative business. It is because of failing so many times that we are able to appreciate it more than anything.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! You are one of a kind! I Love you!

xxoo

PS- This is one of my mom's favorite songs,  every time I hear it, I remember it blaring full blast coming from her studio windows as she painted up a storm, or driving north for the summer with the windows down.



 

 

 

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1 comment

sally biggs

sally biggs

Beautiful tribute, little Mags!! I know you had your Ma sobbing. Now I’ve got to keep it somehow… Love, Walwie

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