All Moms are Creative

Photo by superhua

The phrase, "You're so creative!" implies that not everyone is creative. My husband, who is the furthest thing from crafty/handy/artsy says he's not creative. But he is a gifted public speaker, which takes an incredible amount of creativity. (How do you keep the attention of a room full of junior high kids?!)  I believe that everyone, and every mom in particular, is creative.  You have to be.  For example...

Exhibit A:

Newborn stage.  Baby is awake early in the morning, but you're just too exhausted to carry him around.  Must. Lie. Down. What do you do?  Answer: align bouncy chair next to couch.  Buckle in baby. Lay on couch.  Bounce baby with foot.  (My husband used to do this almost every day.)  

Exhibit B: 

You have to spend all day sitting still...with a toddler.  Somewhere like an airplane, a car, or a football stadium.  What do you do?  Answer: snacks.  Lots of snacks.  Perhaps even a junky snack that he's never tried before and will find intriguing, like a Twizzler.  Oh, and also some kind of movie/video podcast/etc. Flashing, moving pictures.  Magic.

Exhibit C:

You haven't been to the grocery in a long time and all you can find in the pantry is a half-dozen cans of chicken noodle soup.  But this is risky, as Junior has never tried it, and dinner could end with a flinging of the bowl across the kitchen.  How do you ensure that he will like it, or at least try it?  Answer: have him "help" by dumping the can into a bowl, adding the water, picking out a spoon, and a half-dozen other made-up steps where his "help" is needed.  Oh, and teach him to drink soup from the bowl.  This may have to be un-taught later, but whatever.  

Exhibit D:

While traveling, you have to sleep in a room that's nowhere near dark enough for your child to fall asleep.  No naps + crack-of-dawn wake up time = grumpy mommy, grumpy baby.  Your solution: rig a blanket or bath towel over the window(s).  Many moms I know have done this at one point or another.  Creative problem solving at its best.

If you're a mom, you've had to improvise something, almost every day (B and C happened to us in the last three days). There is no training manual that addresses most day-to-day mothering situations. You've got to deal with each issue as it comes, and make up a solution using the resources at hand. And that, my friend, is creativity.