Where will my mood board take us: a journey to unfold

Apologies for that brief interlude in transmission – Planet Baby has been particularly busy this week. It’s also so hard in the middle of the tragedy and disaster unfolding in Japan to focus on other seemingly trivial matters, isn’t it? But in the midst of this, my maudlin mood has been absolutely lifted by the generous and kind comments of you, my dear Planetarians, on my BYW mood board here and here. I have been absolutely fascinated about your thoughts on how my little board has moved you. Some of you have even told me that it’s made you question what your blogs really represent. Yep, it really has started a lot of grey matter churning out there in Blogland! Especially mine.

Now, I wonder what my favourite colours could possibly be?!

What is the purpose of a mood board?

It’s proven a perplexing question on Planet Baby, I can assure you. Mr PB and I had an *interesting* chat about what my mood board was really about. Why hadn’t I included any family photos or mementoes of the pixies? Why indeed? We eventually decided that it’s a positive thing to see my creativity and passion for life outside Planet Baby sparked again. As I understood the BYW task, my mood board was to cover either what my blog touches on and/or the elements of me which I’d like my blog to focus upon. Let’s break it down. Are you ready?

What does my blog touch on?

From the outset, I wanted this to be a pretty little haven, somewhere to record precious moments in our family life, have a creative outlet and adult conversations and connect with like-minded souls around the world. You know – a pastime to ease the loneliness a SAHM can have, especially with 3 littlies and severe PND. I can see some of you Planetarians nodding out there. I wrote about my reasons for blogging here and they all ring true. Still.

But the biggie in the list was my desire to rediscover my identity. That is, I think, the part where I’ve hesitated to venture. Which leads me to my next questions – what are my other passions and why haven’t I blogged about them yet?

What are my other passions?

What are the things that make my heart sing? I’ve previously posted on my loves of all things French, words and foreign languages, foreign words (here and here) and stationery (here, here and here). So many of you Planetarians have revealed your passions for them as well. So what other passions do I have? In my ‘More about me’ page at the top of my blog (I’ve just rewritten it and there’s a new photo of me Mr PB took last week, after my haircut, so you might wish to take a peek at it here), I list many of my favourite things. Some of them are all things German, travelling, maps, papercraft, international affairs and typography.

Ah, my fluttering French butterflies lift my spirits!

Why haven’t I blogged about them yet?

I’ve been pondering this for a while and the BYW course has highlighted my need to find the answer. Not having the time or ideas hasn’t been the problem – I have 149 draft post topics sitting there, just waiting to be brought to life! Why have I hesitated to open up these sides of me to you and posted about so many other things instead? I’ve ended up a little unsure of where to steer this Planet next. I think there are a couple of reasons why.

Firstly, my blog has always been both about my family life and me as a person. Getting the mix right is a constant struggle. Whilst I’m happy to be a SAHM for now, I never intended this to be ‘just’ a Mummy blog. I mean that with no ill intent. I read, and thoroughly enjoy, plenty of such blogs. But I guess my long journey of self-discovery, particularly triggered by my recovery from post-natal depression, has made me realise how much I need to also focus on what gives me pleasure outside PB. And that’s the rub. How do I meld these two aspects of my life into a cohesive whole which is both enjoyable for me to write and for you to read? I think I’ve put it in the ‘too hard basket’. That is linked to my next reason.

Secondly, I am a perfectionist. There, now I’ve said it! A post on that topic has been rattling around in my head for months now – I think it’s about time I wrote it! I’m finally realising that this blog is my vessel and I can choose where to steer it. I have the tiller. But what holds me back is my fear that you Planetarians will be confused if I start posting about topics which don’t directly appear linked to my ‘life on Planet Baby’. Then I ponder whether I’ve chosen the wrong blog title. Has it limited my scope? The perfectionist in me keeps tapping on my shoulder, second guessing at what I should write and worrying whether you Planetarians will feel a ‘disconnect’ with the blog you’ve come to know if I steer us into uncharted waters. And so all those posts remain unwritten.  

Now Felicity, did you spot my special Australian reference I snuck in for you?

So where to next?

And then, in the middle of all my anxiety and self-doubt, your delightful emails have been flooding into my inbox this week of affirmation, encouragement, excitement and even joy at my idea to post about the items on my mood board. The most intriguing and welcome email came from my dear bloggy friend, Le from Third on the Right. She commented that my mood board was  “so very Jane. As one would hope. I can see you clearly in it.” 

Stunned, I pressed her further. Here’s an extract from her extraordinarily insightful and thoughtful response.

Sentimental 

The Tassie map [the map of Tasmania where I live in the bottom right hand corner for those overseas Planetarians] and the way the ribbons were held on the cards.

Caring

The pale blues, gentle colours and recycled stuff.

Vintage

Fountain pen, buttons, paperweight, Paris, doilies and the wee world box.

Exploring the future

The materials and what promise they hold.

A wordsmith

Stationery and the dictionary pages.

World citizen

Maps, passport and mementoes from trips.

Girlie

Ribbons, cut-out butterflies and garlands.

Quality and style

Fountain pen

A maker

All the paper products, the words, letter stencils and hand-coloured papers.

A lover of prettiness

Liberty fabric and the hand-drawn gift box with the three stars.

A keeper

A giver

I am just dumbfounded. Merely by peering at my mood board, Le really ‘gets’ me. She’s never even met me. Yet, she picked up insights about me I hadn’t even tuned into! So, buoyed by such comments, I’m going to start writing up those 149 draft topics just waiting to have life breathed into them. Let’s see where this journey takes us! Now, does anyone have a map for me…