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Updated 20.8.2023: Becoming a children’s author as a Scholarly Mama while pregnant, homeschooling and living through a raging worldwide pandemic… Hmmmm… I’m sure you’re probably wondering what any of that has to do with creativity and hope?
Well, let me explain.
By the way, if you wish to listen to this blog post as a podcast, please feel free to tune in using the player below:
Reflecting on the pandemic year that was 2020 and remembering all the challenges, loss, pain and hardship was a tough undertaking.
But I am grateful that in spite of it all, there were still a few things worthy of celebration. And you already know, this Scholarly Mama is BIG on celebrating the little wins!
So I wanted to share one of them with you in this very special blog post.
This is my story about how I self-published my first children’s book!
This is a very important part of my personal journeys of becoming. If you’d told me a few years ago that I would become a children’s author, I would never have believed it.
But tapping into my own creativity and becoming a children’s author at a time when the world felt like it was falling apart? Oh, that really gave me such a renewed sense of hope and purpose! It was something I had to do.
I have a small number of research publications so far in my academic journey. However, none of that compares to publishing my debut children’s book series. This little passion project of mine exceeds them all, simply because it was inspired by my own children!
Becoming A Children’s Author Gave Me Hope
In my 2020 reflective blog post, I talked about how adjusting to all of the changes imposed by the pandemic changed my Scholarly Mama life.
I faced some tough choices. To allow my ship to sink or to find a way to stay afloat and cope. I chose the latter. I was tired of all the doom and gloom. This gave me the determination to turn this time into something positive, especially for my boys.
Combining my passion for writing with the inspiration I got from them, helped me to create something they can now look back on years from now and be proud of.
Like most of us, I was thrusted into a homeschooling routine overnight during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Absolutely nothing prepared me for homeschooling two kids during a pandemic! My husband continued working on the frontline. Most days I was alone at home with the boys, struggling in every possible way to keep things going.
I was also pregnant for nearly all of 2020! Frequent antenatal appointments, which I had to attend all on my own, made things even more challenging.
After suffering two miscarriages in the past, I can hardly describe the apprehension I felt going into my pregnancy scans. I kept praying that there would still be a heartbeat each time. That I wouldn’t have to face any bad news alone, under these unprecedented circumstances.
I literally went through an entire pregnancy without my husband being able to attend a single antenatal appointment or scan with me.
Physically and emotionally, this was a hard pill to swallow.
But we got through it.
I planned the boys’ homeschooling schedule for each day, and supported them through their learning. Trying my best not to burden them with how tired, sick and worried I was feeling, we kept going…
I kept their routines in place as much as I could, although going to school was simply commuting a few steps to their desks and turning on their laptops and tablets. We even tried to make homeschooling fun. My husband and I challenged them to go beyond the school curriculum and encouraged them to learn new skills and tap into their own creativity.
But I knew I desperately needed an outlet!
Spending so much time at home with the boys was lovely, no doubt. But on some days it felt like we were on a spinning hamster wheel! The endless days and nights within the four walls was beginning to get the better of us. I desperately needed to turn the mundane into something inspirational, for myself and for my boys.
I needed to create something with and for them that would replace the lockdown imposition with some sense of purpose and fulfilment.
If nothing else, I needed creative inspiration.
I’d also just begun what was supposed to be the final funded year of my PhD when the pandemic came upon us. I was burning my candles at every end, trying to homeschool while working on my PhD whilst in the early stages of my pregnancy.
The morning sickness was brutal. Whilst it was reassuring that my pandemic pregnancy was going well, it was hard to cope. This was surely one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Most days, all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and have the longest nap!
Thankfully, my research was paused due to the pandemic. I took a period of interruption from my PhD which I eventually returned to after my maternity leave.
But amidst the lockdowns, homeschooling commitments, the pressure to finish my PhD, and pregnancy-related sickness, one thing the pandemic taught me was that life is too short to not do the things that make me happy and fulfilled.
It taught me to find joy in the chaos and pay attention to the lessons life is teaching me on this journey. It has given me hope but it has also taught me not to put things off.
With this in mind, I am becoming more intentional about living my life purposefully. I am not living for the destination, I’m savouring the moments and embracing the opportunities that I am blessed with along the way. Becoming a children’s author, with inspiration from my boys, has given me a new sense of hope and optimism for the future.
With the unwavering support of my husband and our boys, I published my first book and became a children’s author!
My Journey of Becoming a Children’s Author
I am so glad I acted upon that inspiration my kids gave me, took the plunge and moved forward with the idea.
When else would a Scholarly Mama like me ever get the opportunity to completely immerse herself in a fun, creative project like this with her kids? With all the time we were spending at home during the lockdowns of 2020, it was the perfect time to launch my new children’s book series! I talk in more detail on the website about how it went from a simple idea to a published book.
I am sure it comes as no surprise that I enjoy writing. My writing journey began as a little girl. I would enjoy writing short stories, poems, and handwritten letters to my relatives and my pen pal. I am probably ageing myself here by talking about having a pen pal but hopefully you’ve heard of them! It was back in the day before the wonderful world wide web!
Anyways, I used writing as an outlet to express myself creatively.
I learned the power of language and communication quite early on. But I also understood then that language was more than words. This is exactly why I believe tapping into one’s creativity, even as a Scholarly Mama, is so important.
Expressing yourself creatively can facilitate emotional expression in new ways that you never imagined. When you’re feeling stuck in life, manifesting your creativity can bring on a renewed vigour.
In my experience, this love for writing and creative expression continued into my adulthood, and into motherhood too. Indeed it was my motherhood journey that reignited my creativity and gave me the inspiration I needed to become a children’s author.
However, the journey hasn’t been an easy one. I knew nothing beforehand about publishing children’s books and probably made mistakes along the way. But I believe that the only real mistakes are the ones we don’t learn from. The fact that I mustered up the courage to step out of my comfort zone and become a children’s author is more than enough for me.
Now, we won’t just look back on 2020 as the year the world stopped. Instead, my boys and I have something we can hold onto for the rest of our lives. Hopefully, it will remind them to tap into their creativity and not be afraid to take a leap of faith.
I share all of this to also remind you that you are more than your PhD, Mama.
You have many talents, passions and interests in your life outside of academia. You have so much more to give and that’s important to remember if you want to live life to the full!
So no matter how insignificant (statistically or otherwise, ha-ha!) you think your idea is, pursue your purpose and turn something you’re passionate about into a reality. Put yourself and your talents out there into the world for good. Your sphere of influence may be greater than you realise. Your bravery may inspire others to do something they’ve always aspired to as well but never had the courage to begin.
Bringing My Passion Project To Life
My children’s book series has finally been brought to life. If you want to read about the original idea of the Doodle Dozen and how our eldest son’s simple scrapbook doodles inspired the story and illustrations featured in the books, please feel free. The series seeks to inspire kids in their own creativity and the positive messages in the books focus on friendship, teamwork, and diversity.
So if you have children aged 4-8 years in your circle, feel free to pop over to doodledozen.com. There you’ll find doodle videos, printable resources and lots more to occupy any ‘little doodlers’ in your world. You can also pick up the Doodle Dozen books on Amazon. Also check out doodledozen.com or Amazon for customer reviews.
We’ve also created our inspirational and educational doodle videos using Doodly software, which has been such great family fun so far!
One lesson I’ve learnt from this journey is to just let go of the perfectionism and imposter syndrome and get creative! The joy is in the creativity so don’t let the minute details hold you back.
How Motherhood Helped Me To Become a Children’s Author
While pregnancy and motherhood are two of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had in my life, each is not without its struggles.
Sometimes becoming a Mama can feel like you’re losing out on opportunities. In some cases, your hopes and dreams feel unattainable. Maybe you feel disempowered by your new motherhood. Especially if you’ve had a complicated pregnancy, traumatic birth experience, challenging post-natal recovery period or just a hard time adjusting to your new normal.
You may naturally compare your experiences with that of other Mums. I get it. Raising little humans isn’t easy but comparing yourself and your children to others just adds an extra layer of unsustainable pressure to be the perfect Mum.
What my journey has taught me so far, is that you can’t be anyone else and you certainly can’t be everyone else! You are enough. You are doing your best. Don’t waste precious time striving for perfection because you’ll never achieve it. Just be yourself. Be creatively inspired by the people and simple things around you! There is so much inspiration in the everyday.
Plus, there is at least one little human being that thinks the world of you and thinks you’re the best Mum ever! So you don’t have to look very far to be inspired.
Let’s be perfectly clear about all of this.
Becoming a Mama, or even a Scholarly Mama, does not mean you’re no longer capable of achieving the things you want to achieve. In fact, quite the opposite is true.
You can still explore your interests and creative outlets. They may give you new hope when times are tough and you feel stuck. They may give new meaning to your life.
As a Mama, you can still be you! You can still have creative passions and ideas you wish to pursue. Pursuing them takes courage but it can also give you strength.
Motherhood isn’t a closed door to your opportunities. Motherhood changes you, yes. But it teaches you. It propels you out of your comfort zone to do things for your children that you otherwise would not have had the courage to do.
Motherhood strengthens you. It creatively inspires you! Personally, motherhood gave me wings. Becoming a Mama allowed me to realise my strength, tenacity and resilience. Motherhood helped me to look beyond my career to find myself.
I am becoming exactly who I am meant to be!
So many things hold us back from starting new journeys of becoming. The fear of stepping outside of our comfort zone is often top of the list.
But Mama, remember that you are a multifaceted, multidimensional, powerhouse Mama, equipped with a variety of skills, talents and interests. With that mindset, the sky is the limit.
For this reason, I have become so intentional about embracing this motherhood mindset shift.
Conclusion
In this post, I’ve shared my journey of becoming a published children’s author while pregnant and homeschooling as a Scholarly Mama.
The year 2020 was a challenging one for all of us on many levels but I am grateful for the opportunity to look back on it with my boys and be proud of what we’ve accomplished together.
None of it was easy but the journey of bringing Doodle Dozen to life was truly a rewarding one and most importantly, one I got to share with my family. My life is forever changed because of this. This is a part of my journey as much as my PhD is. This is just one chapter in my story. My heart is so full.
I hope this inspires you to pursue your purpose. You can find fulfilment in other things alongside doing your PhD. You don’t have to wait for the perfect time to do it. Sadly, the perfect time may never come. The best time to do it was perhaps ages ago, but the next best time is… you guessed it… now!
So work hard and pursue your academic and career goals but don’t forget to also do what makes your heart sing. Don’t forget to tap into your creativity.
What non-academic passions do you have that you want to explore? What steps have you taken or want to take in order to turn those into a reality?
Share your passions in the comments and then go out there with your brave Scholarly Mama self and make them happen!
Until next time,
[…] I talk about why I wrote the series in more depth in this previous blog post. […]