Motherhood and Creativity Interview #14 - Rachel Fox
Rachel Fox is a mum, writer, tea drinker and tennis fan living in East Lothian. She writes at Motherhood and Therapy on Substack.
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 over the next few months, and that you find comfort and inspiration in their words too.
You can read all 13 of the previous Motherhood and Creativity interviews here.
Motherhood and Creativity Interview #14 - Rachel Fox
Rachel Fox is a mum, writer, tea drinker and tennis fan living in East Lothian. She writes at
.
How old are your kids?
6 and 3.
When your children are older, what do you hope that they remember about the kind of mum that you were?
That I liked and loved them, their Dad and myself.
When you think about the tough parts of your motherhood journey, which of your qualities/strengths have got you through these tough times?
I'm a stubborn, introverted overthinker – and motherhood has definitely shown me the strengths in those qualities!
From the start, I've been really determined about finding pockets of time for myself, because it benefits all of us when I have the space and silence to just be for a few minutes.
Being an introvert means I'm comfortable with my own company, which was essential in those early days with a newborn. And when I did start to feel lonely, and my mental health took a dip, being in my head so much helped me identify when it was time to get some help.
I have a publication on Substack called
, with the tag line 'Name two things that changed your life' – they're the things that changed mine.What brings you joy in motherhood?
My kids!
How important is creativity to you?
Creativity is crucial to me because it's an emotional outlet. It's how I process my feelings and understand the world around me.
Tell us more about your favourite ways to be creative.
I write!
Since becoming a mum, have you experienced a creative surge? What did that look like for you?
Absolutely!
All my goals and hopes and dreams around writing have suddenly felt a lot more urgent. With my time feeling more limited, I want to make the best use of it.
So I've done more writing in the last six years than in all the years before it, which has felt daunting and exciting.
What does honouring your creativity look like for you in this season of your mothering?
There's a wonderful writer and podcaster called
, who talks about being led by love and not pushed by fear.Writing, to me, is terrifying, because of how much I want from it and how desperately I want to be good at it. So for a long time, fear pulled me away from it, and my progress has been very stop/start.
I'm at the start of another 'start' right now, and honouring that looks like taking small steps, building simple habits, writing little and often, and seeing what happens.
In the past, I've been caught up in wanting to do too much too quickly, not been able to sustain it and burnt out. This time, I'm trying to pace myself and start by just writing for the love of it.
What’s been your experience of finding a community in motherhood?
It's been tough and it's been slow.
We've made a couple of big house moves to new communities, so it's only really now that I feel as though I'm finding the mum friends and community that everyone else seems to build so effortlessly in those early months.
But how good is it to have those connections?! To find the people who understand what you're experiencing because they're experiencing it, too! There's so much comfort and reassurance in that.
I also deeply appreciate the women I know who are further along with the journey, with older kids, who can show me my future! These are my mum mentors; they've been where I am right now and beyond, and I'm so grateful to them for sharing their experiences with me!
What words of encouragement would you offer to a mum who might be struggling at the moment?
Right now, there is nothing more important than the nap, snack, hot cup of tea, workout, phone call with your best friend or chapter of your book that you haven't got time for. Take what you need.
You can find out more about on her Substack publication - .
Thank you for your wonderful words Rachel. I found so many parts of this interview relatable and especially enjoyed reading about:
how as an introvert, Rachel knew how important it was to find pockets of time for her, from the start of her motherhood journey and how she needed that space and stillness
when Rachel described how important creativity is to her:
“Creativity is crucial to me because it's an emotional outlet. It's how I process my feelings and understand the world around me.”
Rachel’s experience of her creative surge:
“All my goals and hopes and dreams around writing have suddenly felt a lot more urgent. With my time feeling more limited, I want to make the best use of it.”
how Rachel is taking a new approach to writing where she takes small steps, writes little and often and paces herself.
when Rachel describes how good it feels to have those mum friends that just get you, when she says:
“But how good is it to have those connections?! To find the people who understand what you're experiencing because they're experiencing it, too! There's so much comfort and reassurance in that.”
I hope you enjoyed this interview in the ‘Motherhood and Creativity’ series - I publish these interviews every fortnight, and will continue to for as long as the interviews keep coming through.
You can read all 13 of the previous Motherhood and Creativity interviews here.
Let me know in the comments, which of Rachel’s words resonated with you.
Ways to work with me this Autumn:
Swap overwhelm, mum-guilt and anger for calm and compassion by building up tiny moments of daily self-care over 12 weeks with the Bespoke Self-Care Plan for Mums.
Are you ready to make positive changes in your life in a gentle and kind way, that fits in with your life as a busy mum right now?
Then I’m here to encourage you, really listen to you and keep you accountable with Rediscover YOU, a 12 week 1 to 1 coaching experience.
Book a virtual cuppa with me to find out more!
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Wonderful interview! I am also a stubborn and introverted over thinker. I also very much related to this section: "All my goals and hopes and dreams around writing have suddenly felt a lot more urgent. With my time feeling more limited, I want to make the best use of it." After my second (my kids are similarly aged at 6 and 2.5), I had PPD that kinda threw me into a mid-life crisis because I hadn't written in 10 years. I started by just finding my love of reading again for a year then slowly moved back to writing.
Lovely interview, thank you both! I really resonated with what Rachel said about creativity being an emotional outlet and somewhere to process all of the huge feelings woven into mothering xx