Many of the women I know well and regularly associate with are mothers and have been mothers for an average of 7 years or so. I think this point in motherhood has a parallel point in marriage. In marriage we call it the seven year itch. I think in motherhood it should be called the seven year scratch. In marriage "itch" refers to a restlessness that is sometimes felt at that point in marriage. In motherhood, "scratch" refers to this feeling of suffocation, that we somehow need to scratch away the crust of "mom" that has formed and breathe again as just "me."
But I don't think that is the answer. We are moms. We can't change that now. We don't really want to, we just want to know how to make that mom person me.
As I was talking to a good friend about this, she said that what she does is try to incorporate the things she loves into being a mom. She is a geeky scientist, and so she and her kids spend their days doing science projects and hosting rocket launching parties.
So simple, I thought. I can do that.
So, I called on my friend Karin who has a flair for the dramatic and we decided to breathe some life into ourselves and into an idea we have had for years of hosting a Performing Arts Camp.
So we did it. We had several neighborhood kids attend for a week-long session. We did songs and two short plays. I loved it. I loved creating. I loved teaching. I loved being with my friend. I loved being with my kids. It was the perfect outlet, and I hope that this means that my 7 year "scratch" simply means I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of all the possibilities of motherhood.
Camille, Karin's daughter who played one of the seven dwarves.
Sydney, another daughter who played Snow White, and then her with Hannah Smith in our remake of a Backyardigans episode.
The dwarves.
Eleanor and Rachael (Karin's daughter) at rehearsal.
Jack is the clock (it is high-noon).
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