When Motherhood Feels Like One Long Scribble: A New Way to Begin Again

For anyone standing in the middle of the mess — Mindful Messes, a creative, nervous-system-first approach for overwhelmed and neurodivergent moms who want to feel like themselves again.

Motherhood is messy.

Not just the scattered shoes and snack crumbs.
The inner mess.

The overstimulation.
The mental load.
The relentless decision-making that drains your capacity before breakfast.

For so many moms — especially neurodivergent moms — life starts to feel like one long scribble.
Tangled.
Unpredictable.
No clear beginning, middle, or end.

And somewhere inside all that noise… you start to lose track of yourself.

Your voice gets quieter.
Your needs slip to the background.
Your sense of self starts to feel distant.

The Scribble Isn’t the Problem — It’s the Beginning

What if the scribble wasn’t something to clean up, fix, or rise above?

What if it was your way back to yourself?

As a licensed professional counselor and licensed professional art therapist, I’ve watched overwhelmed moms find relief not by forcing calm… but by starting exactly where things feel messy.

Creative healing begins in the scribble.

This is the heart of The Mindful Messes Way.

Feel • Make • Become
Create to feel like you again.

No big projects - just small shifts that lead to something powerful.

Feel: Soften Into What’s Here

Before anything shifts, you feel — in ways your nervous system can tolerate.

Not dramatic, not overwhelming.
Just enough to meet yourself again.

You notice what’s true.
You let your system settle.
You stop waging war with your emotions and offer a little compassion instead.

This softens the ground beneath you.

Make: Let Your Hands Lead You Back Into Your Body

Next, you make.

Marks.
Lines.
Colors.
Textures.
Whatever wants to show up.

This isn’t about fancy materials or being an artist. It’s nervous system-first artmaking — a way to interrupt the swirl of overstimulation and return to your body.

As your hands move, your breath deepens.
Your shoulders drop.
Your thinking quiets.
Your system remembers what safety feels like.

From there, the next step becomes possible.

Become: Remember Yourself Again

Bit by bit, you become.

Not the exhausted survival-mode version of you.
Not the one trying to carry everyone else’s emotions.
Not the one shaped by pressure or perfectionism.

You become the version of you who feels like home.

This is where meaning emerges from the mess.
Where creativity becomes a compass.
Where you return to yourself — gently, steadily, piece by piece.

A New Beginning Is Coming (January 6)

In January, I’m opening THE SCRIBBLE SESSIONS — a creativity-based membership and method for moms who want a steadier, more compassionate way to meet themselves.

It's for the mom who is:

• chronically overwhelmed

• overstimulated

• disconnected from herself

• neurodivergent (or parenting neurodivergent kids)

• longing for a daily-ish creative ritual that doesn’t require extra energy

If your body lit up reading this — if something inside whispered yes — you’re already on the path.

Join us over on Substack — and start 2026 with a softer, steadier way back to yourself.

If you’re craving more grounding, creativity, and connection, you’re welcome in this growing community of moms learning to feel, make, and become themselves again.

I offer in-person parent–child art groups and creative workshops throughout Monmouth County and across New Jersey, as well as The Scribble Sessions — my online Substack platform where we explore creative rituals, nervous system support, and ways to soften the messiness of everyday life.

You don’t have to do this alone. Come create alongside us.