Create.

Parenting is the biggest creative challenge I've encountered yet.  The writing challenge, the choreography challenge, those are far less intense and seemingly endless, and in many ways, less real.  Though I do love them, let's not forget that.

When I feel like I've found a parenting solution it directly impacts a human being, my son.  I also love finding something close to a solution for a line of words.  But I never really know if that's a solution or just something better than what I did yesterday.  If you get down to it, that's the same thing, really, it's all just looking for something better than the day before.  Yup.  Can I get Hudson to not throw a tantrum right now... can I get him to eat his dinner... can we play something other than wheel-spinning and actually keep his attention...

I can't wait until he gets a bit bigger when we can really start doing arts and crafts.  When we can really start drawing, and making sculptures, and making sand castles... It's going to be great, and that will definitely satisfy my need to keep creative even when I can't sit down to write any thoughts for hours or days or weeks at a time.

I'm reading Imagine by Jonah Lehrer, our faculty summer reading, and it's doing a great job of helping me realize how many ways I don't stretch my creativity and my brain power.  I had very much the same sensation when I read Poemcrazy a few years ago, though they are actually quite positive sensations because I come away determined to do more, and also satisfied with the knowledge that I can in fact cultivate creative thinking in myself and those around me.  Travel, go to coffee shops, talk to more neighbors, allow myself to be under the influence (within reason) and get out into the arts world to be exposed to other people's creativity.  These are all important lessons I'm getting.

Mostly, I'm learning to take advantage of time even better.  To take a day and a half to write a blog post is okay if that means I am actually using every five-minute piece available to me, and if it means that on the whole I'm writing more.  I'm learning to observe more closely and narrate not just to Hudson what's going on in the world around us, but to myself.  I think it's all connected.  Hopefully all this will help me stay creative as a parent as the years go on...