I first saw this lady at BritMums Live earlier this year, giving a really inspiring seminar on creative blog writing. She asked us to think of the kitchen of our childhood and to write down everything we could remember, trying to convey the smells and textures and colours we could remember. We only had five minutes but I quickly became engrossed, remembering my Grandparent's kitchen, and loved how simple the idea was in getting the creative juices flowing.
I kept this seminar in mind when I wrote my BritMums Live post and it was certainly one of my highlights of the weekend.
Well, since then, I got to tweeting with said lady and I am so pleased to be featuring her on my blog today. Let me introduce you to the super talented actress, writer, blogger, Mama and creator of the musical The Good Enough Mums Club that is Emily Beecher...
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1. Hello, what's your
name and where do you come from?
Hi! I’m Emily
Beecher, I was born in Canterbury but grew up on a small farm just outside Vancouver,
Canada. I moved back to London in my mid-20s, stayed for a while and then had a
brief (disastrous!) foray back to Canada where my daughter was born. I’ve been
back in SW London for over 3 years now and have no plans to go anywhere else!
2. Tell us about your
children.
I have one, a
daughter called Maisie who is 5. She’s amazing. I know all mums have to say
that but she is. She’s hilarious, challenging, thought provoking and truly,
deeply just like me.
3. When did you know
you wanted to be a mum?
I’ve always known. It
just seemed smarter to put it on the back burner for a while (I had Maisie at
34) which honestly now is something I wish I hadn’t done. But I can only say I
wish I hadn’t waited because I did!
4. What's you
favourite moment as a mum so far?
A few months ago,
when I was insanely busy (and stressed out) with my new musical, The GoodEnough Mums Club, Maisie woke up early and I was really annoyed with her (I’m a
nightmare without enough sleep!) so I got her some snacks and took her into the
living room. When I got up 40 minutes later she had written me a “sign” that
said (phonetically) “I love you mummy because you are the best mummy and you
made the good enough mums club.” I just burst into tears.
As a single mum I’m
always worried about trying to get the balance of everything just right. I
don’t think you can do this on a daily basis – I think you need to look a bit
longer term for real balance or you end up failing at everything (or feeling
you do!) so the fact that she knew I was struggling and was proud of the work I
was doing was incredible. I’m very lucky to be her mum.
5. What do you wish
people had told you before you became a mum?
It's funny, I asked
this question a lot when researching the show and I now think we’re probably
better off not knowing everything. One woman said she wish someone had told her
the price that you pay (and that inspired one of the songs in the show) but I
think the thing is the price is almost never what you think it’s going to be
and it's different for everyone.
Before Maisie I would never have believed you
how hard it is, and I would definitely never have believed how amazing it is or
how whole it makes me. I guess the main thing I wish people had told me was to
ask for help and to be honest about my experiences, but hindsight’s 20/20!
6. If we were to look
in your changing bag, what would we find?
Well we’re passed the
changing bag stage but I can tell you if you look in my purse now you’d find a
pile of loom band bracelets, a stick, a bunch of packets of kids neurofen, a
disgusting “strawberry caramel ice cream sundae” lip balm, a bunch of stickers,
a ballerina broken off of a jewellery box, some Bear Snacks and a heart shaped
stone! And that’s just Maisie’s stuff!
7. What were the top
three things you had for your baby that you would recommend to other mums?
- A sling/carrier – having two hands again is a miracle
- The Sleep sheep – gorgeous contraption
- An amazing pram/travel system – there were times I loved mine more than my husband!
- And… Someone to show you how to breastfeed lying down – changed my life.
8. What three things
could you have done without?
- Oh all the pink tat – gag gag gag.
- The Glo Clock – Maisie just wakes me to tell me it hasn’t changed yet
- A bassinet – she didn’t sleep in it ever. Just buy a cot if you want one – next time I’d do one of those co-sleepers that attaches to the bed!
9. What baby brands
do you like and why?
I adore Stokke, Skip
Hop, Peg Perego, DwellStudio – all very design led brands. I think some of them
are also very overpriced so I tended to shop around and use eBay. I do the same
for clothes – they hardly wear stuff so much happier with the idea of reusing
stuff.
10. Are you a working
mum? If so, how do you find it?
Bwahahahahaha. Aren’t
all mums working mums? I’m really fortunate in that I work for myself so I have
a bit more control than a lot of people. The downside is that I am literally
always at work. I have a desk in my bedroom so I can roll out of bed and into
work if I need to. (How heavenly are those quiet moments in the morning where
you’re awake before them? They don’t happen very often in my house!).
It’s a
constant juggle isn’t it? I couldn’t do it without amazing childcare and the
kindness of other mums. One of my best friends is a younger gay guy and I joke
that every single mum should be issued a GBFF when their relationship breaks up
because he’s been a lifesaver. He’s part big brother, godfather, Manny,
climbing frame and cool influence (on both of us). Although I blame him for
Maisie walking around singing “We are never ever getting back together!”
11. What do you enjoy
most about being mum?
I love seeing the
world through her eyes, of seeing her grow and change and try and understand
the world around her. I also think it’s made me a more fun, playful, open
person and I love the impact she has on me.
12. How do you make
time for being 'you'?
I don’t. Not really.
I’d love to say I go for a run and take care of myself everyday but that would
be a big (fat) lie. Exercise is the first thing to give when
work/childcare/life collides. When Maisie’s at her dad’s, I try to do some of
the things I used to do – lazy brunches, galleries uninterrupted, staying up
late watching trashy TV but usually I’m at home cramming in as much work as
possible and attempting to conquer Mt Laundry.
What I have done is accept there
are some things I need to do in order to feel more relaxed about my life – like
on Sunday I need to get all of her uniforms ironed and ready to go for the
week. I know people who have only 2 uniforms for their kids but that would
drive me insane. We have 5 of everything but shoes. I need to know that she’s
sorted for the week. And I need to have a good idea of what we’re eating that
week. Then I can relax and take things as they come. If I’m waking up and
having to wrestle with ironing uniforms or only thinking about dinner when
there’s nothing in the house then I start to unravel – so it isn’t glamorous
but doing those things is definitely time for me!
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| The Good Enough Mums Club |
13. Tell us about
your blog / what you do / where we can find you online?
I used to blog for
years but now I spend so much time writing other things I never seem to have
time to go online. You can find out about my musical about motherhood, The Good
Enough Mums Club at www.thegoodenoughmumsclub.com or on Facebook and on Twitter.
Personally I’m on Twitter too: @The_EmilyB. There’s another EmilyB out there but she’s a porn
star. Make sure you get the right one of us or you could be in for a shock!
14. What's the best
thing about being a blogger / what you do?
After YEARS of not
feeling like I was very good at anything I’m really happy with the little
career I’m carving out for myself. It’s a constantly changing role and I’m
always learning which I’m so grateful for. It’s funny that it wasn’t until I
had a child that I figured out who I am!
15. Share a crazy
fact about yourself.
A
film producer owns the right to make a period of my life into a film!
Wow Emily, you really are a talented, fascinating and inspiring lady. I really could listen to you talk / read your words all day long. Can I put the première in my diary?! I really like your refreshing yet realistic take on Motherhood and thank you so much for being my latest Meet A Mum mama!
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