I’m going out to the country to shoot some guns today. I appreciate that about living in Oklahoma, being far enough away from civilization to blow off some steam.
Grant Maierhofer (a great writer) shared the work of Mierle Laderman Ukeles. She was the artist in residence at the NYC Department of Public Sanitation. She was also a mother. I’m going to link her manifesto here, because I think it’s worth reading, and as Grant indicated to me, it’s worth thinking about these two modes, the creator and the caretaker, and how we culturally seem to value one over the other.
This is something that I’m learning very quickly as I continue my stay-at-home-dad adventure. In addition to caring for an infant for the large part of my day, I’m writing books, recording podcasts, and freelance editing. This mixture of artistic creation (done in short spurts, quickly, when I can find time) and the long, drawn out process of baby raising (entire hours can disappear where I’m holding a bottle, changing a diaper, looking at him, talking to him, absently shaking a light-up toy) is fascinating, and will be a subject I tackle more on the podcast (hopefully with Grant).
Broken River Blog 