hello there friends, how are you doing today? is this going to be a good week for you? do you have any special plans? i do! this was obviously a teaser question, just so that i could say “i do”… i am on vacations, tomorrow is my birthday and wednesday it is a religious holiday, so this is an excellent week!
but today and now it is all about blogs… but to be honest this has also something to do with my birthday. i really must say that birthdays were always my thing. if i had to answer which was the most special day in the whole year, i am pointing out my birthday + christmas! i love these that much… and while christmas is mostly about those we love, specially family… birthdays are also mostly about those we love, specially family + friends. and because of that i called a few of my closest friends tomorrow for a home cooked dinner + homemade dessert.
today i also wanted to honour a special friend. she has been here under another {edition}, but i wanted to share more about her and about what inspires me on a daily basis. today i shall present you {flying house by traveling mama}
“this blog is about our {flying house}… it is about the places we go, the people we meet, the languages we speak, and the home we make along the way. creativity is the very heart and soul of our {flying house}… one never knows where creativity will take us when given wings!”
1. so… why {traveling mama}?
oh goodness! i haven’t thought about this question in a while. when i first started my blog almost four years ago i knew there were two things that everyone should know about me up front… that i love to travel and i am a proud Mama!
2. and why exactly did you start this blog?
initially i started my blog to simply share our new life in morocco with our family and friends back home. another thing that motivated me was the desire to show the world that while a life abroad can be adventurous and exciting, it is also normal. i didn’t have a plan. i just decided one day to start a blog and off i went. i had no idea at the time that blogging would play such a radical role in my own life. it changed me… i think it has made me a better person and widened my world view through the daily interaction i have with friends all over the globe.
{jewelry line bt traveling mama}
3. what do you wish to accomplish with your blog?
world peace. well, that wouldn’t be bad, but perhaps a bit lofty? i am only a southern american girl, after all! no, really, i have a few goals that drive me to continue because when you have been doing this almost daily for four years there has to be something that motivates you, right? my goals are simple. i hope to inspire others through our travels and through our daily life abroad and through that hopefully make the world a smaller place.
4. and what does {traveling mama} mean to you after all these years of interaction?
actually, it means a lot to me. i love the daily interaction i have with new online friends and with those i have met and known face to face. rubbing shoulders with other creative and encouraging people has given me the boldness to live the creative life i have always dreamed of!
{traveling mama by traveling man}
5. when you are away for a few days or a week… do you miss it? (i already know the answer here, but i think this is such a sweet thing, so why not share it!)
i felt the worst kind of void… as if there was an unfinished conversation with a friend. i couldn’t wait to come back and pick up where we left off!
6. now… concerning your creativity, as it is one of the things you share on the blog… the first time i heard about you, you had left a comment somewhere saying (and now i have opened my notebook, where i carefully wrote it down!) “creating becomes a sacred act between myself and whatever is before me and what i create is not nearly as important as simply creating for my own satisfaction”… do you mean you just create for yourself… or do you think of others and what would they like/wish when creating?
prior to starting my blog i don’t think i really understood my creative side. it had always been a part of my life, but one that i felt at odds with. creativity felt like a waste because it couldn’t make me a living and it usually involved me spending money on my creative hobbies! honestly, i felt a bit resentful towards god for making me into this person that seemed to thrive on something so frivolous. but then one day a friend told me that perhaps i was given my creativity for a greater purpose… what if i could use it to help others? this is when we began dreaming of ways to unite artists for social action and even raised enough money through the sale of our photos and artwork to help local schools in morocco through our he{art} for morocco project. these photos can be seen on my blog in the {archives}. we hope to do more projects like this in the future, so stay tuned for more on that! so, yes, sometimes our creativity is for others.
and some days i have someone in mind and i think about what would bring a smile to their face and what would adequately tell them that i love them and i care. but some days it is selfish, or rather self indulgent. some days i need my creative time to pull away and to think. while i hum and create i feel at peace. i feel god with me and in that moment i care very little about the result and much more about living and enjoying that moment of simple creativity. exploring my creativity makes me happy and leaves me feeling deeply satisfied.
7. and a final question… specially for holidays: what would you ask santa claus for your {traveling mama}?
if i could have anything i would like to be “home” with my family for christmas. being far from our family during christmas is the one thing that just never gets easier.
{flying house by traveling mama}
and this was it my sweet friends… i am always amazed and sometimes it gets hard to explain to others that have not experienced this kind of friendship… sometimes we do not have to be with someone, or even meet in person, to believe in one’s kindness & warmest heart. as i have said, i first heard about traveling mama through a comment in another blog… and i was far from guessing that i would meet traveling mama and have her as a huge friend. i admire this family so much for their courage in traveling the world, learning new languages, settling over and over in new countries… with three children. i believe that experiences like this one really make bonds stronger… and this family is really growing together, facing dificulties together, celebrating their accomplishments together.
thank you so much tina for being my guest again, for making {…a place for twiggs} a little bit sweeter than usually i believe it is. you can also visit traveling mama’s {flickr} + {etsy} shop! have a great day you all… i will be back with something else i want to share with you! hugs,
twiggs
