Episode 48: To Blending Your Hobbies and The Responsibilities of Motherhood

There’s no doubt that being a mom keeps you busy, which sometimes leads you to give up on the hobbies that you enjoy. Today, Jodi speaks with Rivki Silver, who has found a way to develop her interests and simultaneously fulfill her motherhood goals. Rivki, a mother of children ages 2-12 years old, and co-host of the Normal Frum Women Podcast, speaks about how she has remained an artist, writer, and creative throughout her motherhood journey. It is possible to keep up your hobbies during your motherhood journey and tune in to this episode to find out ways you can be successful at doing so!About Our Guest:Rivki Silver is a writer, musician and speaker. She has written for a variety of publications, including Family First magazine, Aish.com, and Jewinthecity.com. She is a trained classical musician who has performed with orchestras and also plays piano for local day schools. She has spoken for audiences about her personal story and other Jewish topics. Rivki lives in Cleveland with her family. Show Notes:4:45: Rivki’s background“I'm a mother to 5 children...I'm also a writer, a speaker, I'm a classically trained musician, even though, like at this current stage I'm not playing so much right now. And like you said, I also am a co-host of the podcast of The Normal Frum Women podcast, which I also edit. So I'm a lot of things”6:00: Rivki's balance “So that was the question that I have, I guess, kind of trying to figure out for the past 15 years is how do I use all of these talents that I accrued in my before life, if you will, into my current life and how can I do it in a way that doesn't detract the job that I love, which is the job of being the mother to my 5 kids" 9:15: Rivki keeping up with her hobbies during her motherhood journey“It was very important that they should see me using these things, they should see that mommy plays clarinet, they should see  mommy plays piano, like so many times I would have a  sleeping baby on my lap as I would be writing music”12:50: How Rivki dealt with the conflict and advise"I had to stop and I had to say, okay this is stopping I had to do this differently now because I can't continue to try to do these creative pieces, it's cutting into the amount of patience I have for my kids, it's cutting into my ability to like make dinner and do basic things like that. And I really felt the panic about like but if I don't create any more then who am I, and I think that this is something that a lot of women struggle with for motherhood, not just necessarily creative types but like if I'm only doing motherhood stuff then who am I like because I was a whole person before I was a mother"16:00: 3 practical tips for balancing one’s interest and being a mother simultaneously 22:30: Ways of integrating hobbies into motherhood"There are always going to be a floor that needs to be swept and a surface that needs to be cleared….timers are amazing, set a timer for 20 minutes, 30 minutes and just do that creative activity, and then you can go on and do whatever responsibilities you still have."Connect with Rivki on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTubeCredits:Host: Jodi FriedGuest: Rivki SilverEditor: Matthew Feiler