A Day in the Life...

of a working mom in the world of documentary film

In an effort to explain why there were times I couldn’t be with them, I sometimes made cartoons of our days for my kids to help them visualize where I was and what I was doing during the hours they were at pre-school (Leif) and elementary school (Zoë).

(I think this particular day of shoots & interviews falls after Story Frame 8 – Made of Stars with Madeleine L’Engle and before Story Frame 10 – The Man Behind the Mask.)

It definitely has the sad tinge of guilty mom about it. Looking at it now, I remember how pulled apart I felt – wanting to be with my kids on their first days of school and also wanting (and needing) to be on location for the interviews we were doing for a documentary called Creativity: Touching the Divine.

But I also remember how excited I was to meet Thomas Moore, New York Times best-selling author of Soul Mates, at the airport and drive him over to Washington National Cathedral where we were to film his interview.

To make the drive more pleasant, instead of using the city streets, I drove him to the Cathedral via Rock Creek Parkway, so we would be surrounded by peaceful greenery along the way. He told me I’d taken the “soulful” route, and I was ridiculously pleased he’d noticed.

The working day ended with a dinner with the crew and Thomas Moore in Old Town, but I made sure the kids knew I would be home in time to kiss them goodnight and hear all about their first days back at school.

It looks like someone (Leif) decided to add a little color in some of the clock segments 😂

Kristin Fellows is a published writer, world traveler, and a well-seasoned documentary film consultant. When not writing, Kristin can often be found listening to someone’s story or behind the lens of one of her cameras.

More about Kristin @ kristinfellowswriter.com

[photo of Kristin, Leif & Zoë (now all grown up) by Anoop Khindria, Asheville]