Pottery by Lisa: The Joy of Mothering and Working

Annabelle started preschool today.

It was terrifying. I could not sleep last night. I did not want to get out of bed this morning. We left late. I picked her up early.

I wrote an instruction manual on her morning routine, my parenting philosophy, her eating eccentricities, and educated the teachers on the Weisbleuth sleep method while handing over her sleep sack and sound machine.

I checked my phone again and again. I was stuck on one of those endless group texts about unrelated business but I jumped every time my phone buzzed, sure my child was melting down and in need of mommy.

But eventually 12:30 rolled around. We survived the first day of school.. We hugged each other dearly afterwards. She missed her mom and was quite upset with me for leaving her. She couldn't get comfortable to nap at school. She only ate some of her lunch I packed. A leaky diaper ruined her outfit. It was a hard day. She made sure I knew that by bursting into tears only when she realized I was there, and had caught her play happily.

So we came home and sang and played and sat outside. We ate some chicken. We talked about her day and decided that though it was hard, it was still ok.

I feel bad that she had such a hard day, especially when I on the other hand was having a thrilling one.

Despite my nerves, I could feel my excitement rising as I drove through town and saw the activity of the morning world- something I rarely get to experience now that my days require no a.m. travel. I love being part of things and groups and activity so just driving amongst other people headed to various destinations was invigorating.

After dropping Annabelle off, I made a most luxurious Starbucks run and headed to work in the studio with caffeinated sugar in my hand and endless potential pieces forming in my mind.

Even this summer with my husband home to help with Annabelle, I did not have 3 hours of uninterrupted work time. With AB nursing, I was on call. But now that we have hit the magic age of 1, Annabelle is drinking a little milk straight up from the grocery store giving me the flexibility to nurse when we want to, and work when I want to.

Today was my first day of no baby, no baby monitor. Just work. For 3 whole hours.

I love to work. I've had a lot of jobs in my 30 years. And work has always been important to me.

The self worth, the satisfaction and the joy I received from my work time this morning- difficult as it was to carve it out- was exhilarating. To be able to be Mom AND Potter is just fabulous. It's what I've always wanted to be.

I made yarn bowls today. I pulled handles and stuck them on cups. I taught a student how to make a plate and slip trail. I unloaded my new awesome baby kiln (that took 2 seconds though). I threw on a load of laundry. It was the perfect morning.

I made a name plate for my Spanish Teacher sister during the slip trailing lesson for her classroom.

By 12:30 I was ready to get my baby back in my arms. My morning of work allowed me to feel accomplished, and able to give the rest of my day and my time to Annabelle. We ran out to the studio for a few tasks, but mostly, we played.

I caught a line in a parenting article today that stated that children need to know their parents are individuals with needs. As a child I remember having a hard time coming to the realization that things didn't revolve around me. Today, much of my world revolves around Annabelle. It is good this way. But today it revolved around us both, in a way that helped us be better together after a short time apart.

It was hard. But also awesome. I pray it gets easier on my girl (and my nerves) but am very very excited about this new freedom to pursue my art.

Annabelle is only 1. Our mommy/baby time is priceless. But these 8 hours per week that we will be apart will be invested in a way that will make me better at my job of making pots and better at being a mom to AB.

It's hard.

But it's good.

Here is a look at a few things I've accomplished in the studio lately...