I grew up in a household of ten people. Being the third child of eight in a tiny farm town, you had make your mark in some way in order to get noticed. I knew from a young age that I had this drive to be creative. Growing up on a farm in Alberta,Canada didn’t offer much for someone with my big, creative aspirations. I lived my dreams through the movies I watched, and music I listened to. They would take me on a journey far, far away from this little old farm. I would dream of the day I would leave and discover all of the gold that I saw in my minds eye.
Fast forward several years to my big move to Hollywood. I was excited, naive and full of big glossy dreams. Wanting to pursue my creative side had its downfalls, and wasn’t quite as glamorous as my dreams were. Reality hit and I needed a steady job to survive. All of the creativeness got pushed aside for many,many years.
I am now a mother to four amazing kids that each possess their own creativity. I have watched them through the years as they have navigated through music lessons, sports, acting, dancing, painting and so much more. Being a creative person and not having the ability or the means to be able to cultivate that at a young age was difficult. I am blessed and grateful to be able to give my children the opportunities to invest in their creative endeavors . We live in an area where the ability to grow in ones creative self is at our fingertips and highly encouraged.
One thing that I have been very cognizant of, despite my own passions, is not to push my desires on my kids. I have a daughter who at the age of four said,”mommy I want to be on tv”. To my surprise I looked at her with a smile and the first thought that came to my mind was, I was the same age as she when I said the very same thing. I never told Jordyn that I moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting until she was a teenager and had been acting for many years. I never wanted her to think I was trying to live out a dream I once had through my daughter. It’s a tough, brutal business, one has to really love it to jump in.
I have a son who is so funny and beats to the tune of his own drum. He too is finding his creative outlet and passion in acting classes. He gets to be whatever he wants and whom ever he wants without judgment. He feels confident and free to dive in full force in a way that only this craft can provide. It’s remarkable to witness.
In my wildest dreams I would never have guessed that I would have kids that would choose to go down this path. While it’s daunting, the most loving thing that I can do for them is to support them. I want them to feel like they can do anything they want.
My sweet thirteen year old, who bless her heart is incredibly creative, is already the tortured artist. I relate to her so deeply. She is a beautiful singer and writer, who doesn’t realize how good she truly is. She wrote her first song when she was 8 and it is beautiful. I encourage her to do what makes her happy, seeing that writing for her is an amazing tool for expressing her feelings. Her creativity is very cerebral, deep and eloquent. Watching it unravel is an honor.
My oldest son has always loved music deeply. For many years he talked about wanting to be a DJ and became immersed in mixing songs. He now works in the marketing world, and while he is happy, I hope he never lets go of the creativity that lights him up.
Each of my children are inspired by different creative outlets, and for this I am grateful because it is the dreamers of the world that bring us all beauty, wonder and healing.
Do you allow or encourage your kids to be creative? How do you support them? Do you give them wings to fly or do you stifle them unknowingly?
These are important questions to ponder when on the winding path of parenting.
