We were lucky to catch up with Nicole Dooley recently and have shared our conversation below.
Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
Legacy. That’s a big word. I am currently working on a freelance project about a grandfather who wrote a memoir in order to leave a legacy for his family. He wants his memories to remain alive after he’s gone.
It really had me thinking about what my legacy will be. What will my children remember about me? What will they miss? It was actually much easier for me to figure out than I thought. What’s most important for me is simple. I’d want my children to know that I loved them deeply and with my whole heart. I‘d hope that one day they would remember all of my efforts and how I tried to do the right thing always, even if I made mistakes at times. I would just want them to know that their happiness was everything to me. My legacy would be them.
Nicole, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
As a former elementary school teacher and now a busy mother of three, I’ve spent the last two decades taking care of children. Now that my youngest is three and I’ve been out of the workforce for seven years, I have decided to try and make a little more time for myself doing the things I love…even if it’s only for ten minutes a day! I have always loved to write. It has been my personal therapy since I was young. So, like countless others before me, I decided to start a blog. Mama Explains is where I share my own personal stories about motherhood and parenting. I began by writing about my experiences and it became very personal. I write about different topics but always from my own perspective. I have gotten such positive feedback from my honesty and relatability. It has been so much fun for me and I love connecting with the readers. The local newspapers even feature my posts in their weekly papers. I also have an instagram account where I post relatable mom content and links to my recent blog entries. I think it’s important for parents to know that they are not alone and I truly feel like my blog lets the reader know that their feelings are always valid and chances are that others are going through the same struggles. My blog deals with some hard topics, but is also full of laughs! I recommend it to anyone who has a child in the infant stage and even up to teenagers!
My hope is to turn my words into a book sooner than later and to enjoy the process every step of the way.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I love being able to express myself in a way that calms me, makes me laugh, and refocuses me all in one sitting. I never thought of myself as creative because I wasn’t someone who could draw or paint, but as I got older I realized that my brain was more creative than I thought and that as a writer I was essentially an artist with my words and my story telling. I love when readers connect with my stories and especially love when they tell me that certain lines from my blog made them laugh out loud or even cry because it evoked such emotion.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
After my daughter was born, I had multiple miscarriages consistently. I wrote about my journey on my blog in different entries. Learning about myself through my writing helped me get through a lot of hard seasons in my life. And now that my words are out there for everyone to read, I am happy that they have helped other women get through some of the same struggles. I try to put out all of the information I learned because it can really help someone who had no idea about what can be available to them. I wrote an entry called, MTHFR, and it’s all about reoccurring miscarriages and I received really great feedback on it. I will say that whatever I have gone through, I always pushed through for my kids and my writing has always helped me express myself and to keep going.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mamaexplains.com
- Instagram: mamaexplains