Debra: Introduction
Hello everyone! I am an American mother living in Toulouse, France. I am a sometimes filmmaker, writer, teacher and translator. At the moment I am teaching English at an Art and Design school and trying to get back into the swing of writing regularly.
Since the birth of my son I have felt both liberated and confined, as I suppose many mothers do. Time has taken on an entirely different character for me — days are divided not into hours but into segments: awake time, nap time, eating time, playtime. While I have less time for myself in a practical sense, I find that I also have more time to think, and I have a lot of new ideas that I just need to find the time to get down.
I’ve also realized, living in a foreign country and a foreign language, that I need a community of other creative people to keep me going. There is always more vacuuming to do, more laundry to wash — I’m hoping that this community will help me set aside the time to write!
Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
oh good, i was wondering who popped up on the monday page! hello! or bonjour!
this supportive group really got me back on track with my writing after a long hiatus in parenting land.
It’s great to have you, Debra!
At the moment, what opportunities do you have for creative time? Is it pretty much just nap time (when you’re not working) or evenings?
welcome debra! this is a wonderful, supportive, fun group. i look forward to hearing more from you!
Welcome, Debra! This is a great community. I look forward to chatting with you.
Hi, Debra! Great that you found your way here. I lived abroad (in Germany) for a long time; I found an English Writers’ Group in the city where I was, which was helpful, especially as this was before anyone was really using the internet! It was great to have a fortnightly meeting where you could bring something, however short, to share and get feedback on. Do you know whether there’s anything similar in Toulouse?
Thanks for all your welcoming comments! I started thinking about the answer to your question, Miranda, and realized that I don’t have much time at all! My son goes to daycare 16 hours a week but it’s in 4-hour chunks, and I work during a bunch of them. He is going to start a different kind of daycare next month, so I’ll have longer chunks of time to myself. Charlotte, there was an English writers’ group here in Toulouse but it hasn’t been very active lately, it seems – I think I might try to help get it started up again when I have a little more time (that’s next month, after we move and Noé has more time in daycare).