Motherhood & Creativity Interview #26 - Laura - This Wild Mama

Laura is an unschooling mother, thought writer, mothercare doula, book reader and nature lover. She travels Australia full time in a caravan with her family of 5.

If you are new here, welcome! I’m so happy to have you here as part of this lovely, supportive community of mums. I’m Jenna, a mum of 3, a Coach for Mums and I live by the sea in South Wales.

Here on The Motherhood Connection, I love writing about:

• ways to ease your overwhelm and cultivate self-compassion as a mum

• tips on how to take imperfect action and live a life that feels good to you

• the small moments of family life that bring me joy

• honest reflections on motherhood

Every fortnight, I also publish a Motherhood and Creativity interview, where I share the words of creative mums who inspire me here on Substack and beyond.

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Welcome to Motherhood and Creativity, an interview series where I share the words of creative mums who inspire me here on Substack and beyond.

I share words of joy, strength, creativity and community in motherhood.

I feel like when we read the words of mums who speak so honestly about motherhood - the good parts, the hard parts and everything in between - this can really help give us some comfort and feel less alone.

I find so much inspiration from reading about mums who are all weaving their work and creativity around their kids too, as this is the situation I’m currently in. Knowing that there are other mums out there with creative dreams and careers and they are making it work around the edges of motherhood, that is so encouraging.

I hope you enjoy reading the words from these wonderful mums, and that you find comfort and inspiration in their words too.

You can read all 25 of the previous Motherhood and Creativity interviews here.

Motherhood and Creativity Interview #26 - Laura from This Wild Mama

Laura

is an unschooling mother, thought writer, mothercare doula, book reader and nature lover. She travels Australia full time in a caravan with her family of 5.

How old are your kids?

I currently have 3 children, 2 daughters who are 9 and 3 as well as a 6 year old son.

When your children are older, what do you hope that they remember about the kind of mum that you were?

I hope they remember all the adventures we went on together. That they will hold the hours and hours we spent reading together close to their hearts. That we will continue to have in jokes and experiences to look back on together, forever. I also fervently hope they will think of me as an active and supportive mother through whatever comes.

When you think about the tough parts of your motherhood journey, which of your qualities/strengths have got you through these tough times?

My motherhood has been peppered with difficult bits, such is life. From HG pregnancies, a NICU baby, lockdowns, mental and physical health challenges. It’s been a lot!

I think the biggest strength is my determination, to continue showing up and creating a beautiful life we can share. I’m grateful and proud of how I’ve been able to continue on throughout all the hard.

I love so deeply and I know that has helped to pull me through many, many times.

Each of the hard times have also brought out new strengths and skills that I wouldn’t have otherwise leaned into.

What brings you joy in motherhood?

I genuinely enjoy spending my life and my days with my children. Watching them grow, seeing them learn and develop new understanding about the world is such an honour that I don’t take for granted.

I love watching how their relationships with each other are unfolding and how each are so unique and creative in their own individual ways.

I love going on adventures together, I love reading together and I love how we are co-creating a life we all enjoy together.

How important is creativity to you?

Creativity is everything. It’s in everything, it comes from everything.

Motherhood is inherently creative.

Tell us more about your favourite ways to be creative.

I honestly love creativity in all its forms. I see everything as being creative.

I love creating with my hands, knitting and sewing, sometimes drawing and making collages. I love creating with my mind, writing thoughts and ideas.

I love creating with my life. How I live and be. It’s all creative to me.

Since becoming a mum, have you experienced a creative surge? What did that look like for you?

I’ve always been a creative person but how this creativity has come forth has shifted and changed drastically over the years and throughout different life stages especially as I entered into this beautiful season of mothering.

Before kids I studied fine arts. I sang in bands and choirs. I wrote (very bad) poetry for a time as well. After I got married I dove further into crafts, playing with new materials like feathers and doilies.

Once I had my first child I turned to textiles, I taught myself how to sew and knit.

After my second child my creativity came out through how I styled myself and my home, how I loved my children and the determination I had to create a beautiful life with them.

My third child came more of a spiritual creativity, learning to listen to my inner voice more and more and follow my own path even when it looks quite different to how others might live or what they might expect of me.

What does honouring your creativity look like for you in this season of your mothering?

Right now, writing is feeling like a beautiful outlet of creativity.

I’m coming back into my body more now 3 and a half years postpartum and have been exploring fashion and style for myself again which has felt really fun.

I continue to find creating a beautiful, connected life for myself with my family to be one of the most profound and artistic experiences of my life thus far.

What’s been your experience of finding a community in motherhood?

Initially, I found motherhood really lonely. I was consistently so much younger than most of the other mums around me and I often found we had different values and expectations around motherhood.

After my 2nd child was born we started seriously looking into the option of homeschooling which had always been intriguing and appealing to me and through that process I began to connect with other mums and felt like I finally found my people.

We are still homeschooling now many years on and it’s been a really special undertaking that has connected me really beautifully with other like-minded mothers.

What words of encouragement would you offer to a mum who might be struggling at the moment?

I send nothing but love.

Mothering is a huge endeavour full of the biggest twists and turns but can also be one of the most transformative and creative pursuits if we allow it to be.

And I hope you know you deserve to be fully held and supported through the process.

You can find out more about

Laura

here:

• Substack:

  This Wild Mama

• Instagram: @thiswildmama

Thank you Laura for being part of the Motherhood and Creativity interview series.

I loved reading this interview and enjoyed these parts especially:

• how Laura’s determination has helped her to continue to show up and carry on in the tough times.

• how for Laura, watching her kids relationships with each other unfold brings her joy in motherhood as well as watching how each of her kids are ”…so unique and creative in their own individual ways.” I’d so agree with this, just following our kids lead and their individual interests can teach us so much.

• how Laura sees motherhood as “…inherently creative” and how she sees everything as creative - whether it’s creating with her hands, her mind or creating her life.

• how Laura’s creative surge looked different with each child and with her 3rd child especially, she had more of a spiritual creative surge which looked like:

  “…learning to listen to my inner voice more and more and follow my own path even when it looks quite different to how others might live or what they might expect of me.”

  I’d so agree with this part, my creative surge with my 3rd child allowed me to really step into my authentic self and do motherhood, and life, my way - without apology.

• how Laura’s feels that “…creating a beautiful, connected life for myself with my family to be one of the most profound and artistic experiences of my life thus far.”

  I love how this encourages us to zoom out and see our lives from a different perspective and realise that we are all creating a beautiful life for our families every day - a shift in perspective for us to hold on to, especially on the tough days.

• how Laura found her community in motherhood through homeschooling

• and finally, these compassionate words from Laura on advice she’d give to another mum who is struggling:

  “I send nothing but love. Mothering is a huge endeavour full of the biggest twists and turns but can also be one of the most transformative and creative pursuits if we allow it to be. And I hope you know you deserve to be fully held and supported through the process.”

I hope you enjoyed this interview in the ‘Motherhood and Creativity’ series - these interviews will continue fortnightly until April 2025.

You can read all 25 of the previous Motherhood and Creativity interviews here.

I’d love to hear which of Laura’s words resonated with you - let me know in the comments.

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Work with Jenna in 2025

If you’d like to start 2025 by setting feel-good goals, taking small (totally do-able) steps, that create long-lasting change then just think of me as your personal cheerleader who is going to support you in making those changes!

I’ll boost your confidence by reminding you of your strengths, of all the times when you’ve done hard things before and how amazing you already are - let’s get started and make incredible things happen for you!!

I’ve got space for 2 mums to work with me in my Rediscover YOU 12 week one to one coaching experience, and also space for 1 mum to work with me to create their very own 12 week Bespoke Self Care Plan - you can find all the details for both of these here or book a 30 min chat with me to find out more:

You might also like some of my most recent posts/podcast episodes:

• PODCAST: Taking imperfect action - on how we can get out of our own way, get out of planning mode and actually take imperfect action on our unspoken dreams, all whilst building our confidence, momentum and courage at the same time.

• A decade of reclaiming motherhood and changing the narrative of my life - a post for the International Women's Day Siren Songs collaboration.

• Motherhood & Creativity Interview - Ashleigh Houlton

• PODCAST: Ease into 2025 gently: Reflect and Dream - This podcast episode is going to help you to start to make slow and gentle changes in your life in 2025.

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