I’m not one of those people with post-it note mantras on my bathroom mirror to see and repeat each day (and I love you if you are!), but if I were, mine would say THIS IS A SEASON. I recognized it and found it as a new parent—the baby stage in particular with the seemingly endless nights contrasted by the days that pass in a blink—but I’ve since taken it beyond that realm and found it true for everything else. As humans, we are not in solid states; instead we are ever evolving, growing, learning. Learning for me is a state of being; I’m always drawn to new skills and techniques for creating, and am equally interested in learning facts in some other medium or discipline. 

If I hadn't already experienced the benefits of constraint in my practices of writing and art-making, I would have still had to confront the necessity of constraints in creative practice as a parent. Constraints of time and ability to do certain things are a given as a new parent. You have someone (or several someones) who needs you around the clock and they don't follow any rhythm but theirs. They communicate sheer need in a language all their own and you only option is to respond.