I am an artist.

As Luca started school and got to know his friends and teachers, I would explain to him that I left him with his friends and teachers so that I could go be a teacher to other kids; older kids. And he understood it relatively well. I would bring him to Norristown High School a couple times a year and made a big deal about my classroom and the students I taught and all of the art the kids were doing. So he understood that I was DOING something when I wasn’t with him. This is a topic that’s come up in the past months/past year; what do I do now? I ask this of myself, people ask me, I ask myself again. And then today Luca asked me “mom, you used to be a teacher, now what do you do?” He asked in such a way that if any adult would’ve asked me I would’ve gotten defensive because i know the judgements that are sometimes passed on moms who stay home with their kids. Some people think that moms who work at home have all the time in the world to do everything. But it’s really quite the opposite if you’re actually taking the time and really spending it well with your kids. Anyway, I digress. When he asked me my immediate response was “I am an artist” and he looked at me and said “oh, that’s cool!” It didn’t register with him how momentous an occasion it was for me to say that so simply and confidently. For my whole life I now realize I’ve been fitting myself into something that, yes, I may have been good at, but was nonetheless not my thang. My thang is art. There. I said it again. I am an artist! Thank you Luca for showing me that the simplest answer is the most empowering. Happy Mother’s Day to me ❤️