I am a mom {inspired by motherhood}

I've been authoring a family blog for almost 6 years now.  I love to write and I absolutely enjoy keeping track of my family's memories throughout the year, and one of my favorite things to do is go back and reread those things I wrote about so many years ago.  Some of my favorite posts to reread are about my time as a single mom of 3 girls, working my way through design school.  I still can't believe I accomplished what I did and I really appreciate having those posts to remind me of where I've been and how I got to where I am today.

You may be wondering what this has to do with the world of design, and why write about it here... on a blog dedicated to design.  I've wondered that too, which is why I was a little hesitant to write today in the first place.  I'll admit, I struggle with keeping my family blog and my design blog separate. Some of my biggest inspiration comes from the "real life" stuff of being a mom, creating comfort among chaos {which comes naturally with a family of 6}, living in an average home {builder grade}, designing on a budget.  These worlds are so intertwined it's hard to separate them sometimes... so why not share a little of my real life "inspiration" here and there?  Besides, I feel like it changes me from just being another design blogger, to a real person with a real life who happens to have a passion and love for design, because in reality my love for design is secondary to being a mom.

These past couple of weeks I've been a little frustrated with myself for beginning a blog and not being able to get back to it as much as I would have liked.  But I can't {and won't} apologize... I am a mom and so very blessed to be one!  The past couple weeks have been spent with this beautiful girl...

She is my oldest and an absolute treasure.  She's growing up a little too fast for my liking and I think the older she gets, the more I have a desire to stop everything I'm doing just to spend time with her.  See, she's a senior in high school this year and when the school year started I was hit with the realization that she's moving on very soon... college, career, life long plans that don't include living in my house anymore and hanging out with her mom everyday.

So we've spent the last couple of weeks applying for college, studying to retake the ACT {she took it last year, but is a perfectionist like me and wanted a better score}, and talking about college plans like dorm rooms and transportation.  It's been a lot of work and a bit exhausting at times.  Taking time out to return to blogging, even for just a moment, has been a nice reprieve.

And as I've learned throughout these years of motherhood, moms need to take time out for themselves every once in a while.  I believe it makes us all better moms in the end, and for me it leaves me more open to seeing the everyday inspiration that often comes through the joys of being a mom.