It's fun to see the similarities and differences. Maybe after a year I'll do a "what I learned" round up or something - I'm already starting to notice trends, like so far no one has said that they *could* have done anything differently to get where they are. I find that fascinating.
Maybe the ability to craft a life that doesn't fit into the usual categories is something that requires life experience with regular approaches before it happens. There are surely exceptions to this, but probably most of us first intend to do great things through normal pathways, and only later find that our convictions and/or circumstances direct us toward thinking differently. What do you think of that hypothesis?
I think you're on to something, because the other thing I noticed (and maybe this is a kind of self-selecting phenomenon, because by definition I'm interviewing women who are living outside the box?) is that no one said: I always wanted to do x, and then I took a path to x, and now I'm doing x. Whether it's mothering or living a monastic-adjacent vocation, every woman has said the path wasn't a straight line.
Really loved this Kerri! I've followed along with Taryn's work for a while and I really admire the way she's set boundaries and also had a lot of clarity about her vocation at this time of life.
I also frequently feel the need to defend both stay-at-home moms and working moms! There are just so many different dynamics and family situations at play. It seems impossible to make overarching statements about any one decision.
Mrs. Murray is such a great role model! I'm going to think about that some more. A really present mom who is also clearly prioritizing her work as well. I love it!
I actually reread a wrinkle in Time recently and I was just struck so much by that family's closeness amidst busy work and personal eccentricities and passions. It's really beautiful.
Thanks, Katie! I'm really enjoying having individual women share how they're managing the different aspects of life for the season they're in - I hope by sharing unique stories we can get a better sense that there is no one-sized-fits-all solution for everyone at the same time, although there might be similar threads that can be helpful to all of us.
I have so many thoughts on a Wrinkle in Time - when Taryn said Mrs. Murray was her role model, I immediately said: ME TOO. And Mrs. Austen from "Meet the Austens". I have a piece brewing about Madeline L'Engle and these characters... too many ideas, not enough time to write them all! The family dynamic she presents is, as you say, really beautiful and I think there's a lot to be gleaned from it.
I also have admired the character of Mrs. Murray. For me it's not the *idea* of that type of mom that trips me up, it's the brass tacks of implementation or execution I struggle with. Like, on an hourly basis how does that actually work with the amount of hours in a day. What am I missing? lol I suppose this is probably where good time management, help, and in real life friends and mentors come in, whose lives you can brush up with more intimately.
Thanks, Haley! I'm hoping that different women sharing their brass-tacks of when and how will also help. But remember: when we meet the wonderful fictional Mrs. Murray, (1) her kids are all rational people and (2) they live in a world (of the 1950s or 60s) where they mostly look out for themselves, walking or getting the bus to school, riding bikes to meet friends, etc.
We don't see how it was when she had lots of tiny ones in diapers - my guess is that the bunsen burner got far, far less attention!
Also my personal theory based on observation is that some women in some seasons with some jobs are just more suited to this. Some people need less sleep; some people thrive on doing their work and actually come away energized; some work lends itself towards being more piecemeal or marginal (as Taryn noted in her interview.) I think the more you can identify women who are similar to you, but in a farther stage in life, the more luck you'll have learning from what worked for them.
Prayer! Yes! I love the different answers in these interviews to this question!
Great to see another example of a mother who straddles categories because that is what she has discerned is best for her to do.
It's fun to see the similarities and differences. Maybe after a year I'll do a "what I learned" round up or something - I'm already starting to notice trends, like so far no one has said that they *could* have done anything differently to get where they are. I find that fascinating.
Maybe the ability to craft a life that doesn't fit into the usual categories is something that requires life experience with regular approaches before it happens. There are surely exceptions to this, but probably most of us first intend to do great things through normal pathways, and only later find that our convictions and/or circumstances direct us toward thinking differently. What do you think of that hypothesis?
I think you're on to something, because the other thing I noticed (and maybe this is a kind of self-selecting phenomenon, because by definition I'm interviewing women who are living outside the box?) is that no one said: I always wanted to do x, and then I took a path to x, and now I'm doing x. Whether it's mothering or living a monastic-adjacent vocation, every woman has said the path wasn't a straight line.
Really loved this Kerri! I've followed along with Taryn's work for a while and I really admire the way she's set boundaries and also had a lot of clarity about her vocation at this time of life.
I also frequently feel the need to defend both stay-at-home moms and working moms! There are just so many different dynamics and family situations at play. It seems impossible to make overarching statements about any one decision.
Mrs. Murray is such a great role model! I'm going to think about that some more. A really present mom who is also clearly prioritizing her work as well. I love it!
I actually reread a wrinkle in Time recently and I was just struck so much by that family's closeness amidst busy work and personal eccentricities and passions. It's really beautiful.
Thanks, Katie! I'm really enjoying having individual women share how they're managing the different aspects of life for the season they're in - I hope by sharing unique stories we can get a better sense that there is no one-sized-fits-all solution for everyone at the same time, although there might be similar threads that can be helpful to all of us.
I have so many thoughts on a Wrinkle in Time - when Taryn said Mrs. Murray was her role model, I immediately said: ME TOO. And Mrs. Austen from "Meet the Austens". I have a piece brewing about Madeline L'Engle and these characters... too many ideas, not enough time to write them all! The family dynamic she presents is, as you say, really beautiful and I think there's a lot to be gleaned from it.
This was great, Kerri.
I also have admired the character of Mrs. Murray. For me it's not the *idea* of that type of mom that trips me up, it's the brass tacks of implementation or execution I struggle with. Like, on an hourly basis how does that actually work with the amount of hours in a day. What am I missing? lol I suppose this is probably where good time management, help, and in real life friends and mentors come in, whose lives you can brush up with more intimately.
Thanks, Haley! I'm hoping that different women sharing their brass-tacks of when and how will also help. But remember: when we meet the wonderful fictional Mrs. Murray, (1) her kids are all rational people and (2) they live in a world (of the 1950s or 60s) where they mostly look out for themselves, walking or getting the bus to school, riding bikes to meet friends, etc.
We don't see how it was when she had lots of tiny ones in diapers - my guess is that the bunsen burner got far, far less attention!
Also my personal theory based on observation is that some women in some seasons with some jobs are just more suited to this. Some people need less sleep; some people thrive on doing their work and actually come away energized; some work lends itself towards being more piecemeal or marginal (as Taryn noted in her interview.) I think the more you can identify women who are similar to you, but in a farther stage in life, the more luck you'll have learning from what worked for them.