Moms Can Have Hobbies Too

Jena Muhr discusses why it's good for moms to have hobbies and interests in addition to their lives as moms.  

About two years ago I read a book that I still think about from time to time. It’s called This is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch: The Joy of Loving Something — Anything — Like Your Life Depended On It by Tabitha Carvan. Essentially it is about how society has made it unimportant or wrong for women to have strong hobbies or passions as they grow older.

For Tabitha, it is framed in her love of the actor Benedict Cumberbatch, which led her to put his picture on the wall above her desk, and how this is not as socially accepted as a man who loves the Dodgers or the Packers and know all about the team and its players, decorating his space in sports memorabilia. The strong hobbies of men are socially acceptable whereas those of women are laughed at or seen as unimportant.  

Hobbies Are Personal 

When I first became a mom, I struggled to find who I was in this new phase of life. Unbeknownst to me, running long distances and drinking wine are a bit harder to do once you have children. And when I was looking around to find new hobbies or things to engage my mind and creativity, so many of the moms I talked to could not name a single hobby or activity that they did because they enjoyed it. Not because it was their job or related to cleaning or their duties as mom. (I realize that some people love cleaning; if you do, please come to my house. You have a superpower, and I will feed you to stay.) 

Redeveloping Myself 

Eventually I did find new hobbies and new ways to engage in the hobbies that I have enjoyed throughout my life. Running distances isn’t always in the cards, but I am still able to run. The treadmill has become a good friend of mine, as have running-related podcasts and blogs. I still enjoy a glass of wine and find that a glass with dinner is a beautiful way to relax at the end of the day.   

I have also developed new hobbies. I have expanded on an enjoyment of organizing. I know this sounds very similar to the super-powered people who like to clean, but I believe that they are different. I love developing and fine-tuning systems that help life run smoothly. This helps the family and saves my sanity.

Another new hobby is bread baking and baking in general: always delicious. I have started writing for this blog and love that I get to put my thoughts and ideas down on paper once a month, just for the joy of it. I have a garden in the backyard where I am successfully growing vegetables. 

If *NSYNC ever decides to get back together, I will definitely be putting their posters back on my bedroom walls. If the Angels ever field a decent team, I will get back into following baseball. But until that time, I haven’t found a team or outwardly shown hobby that I’ve gravitated toward. And that’s OK.

I don’t think that we need to be loud about our hobbies, but we should have them because time spent engaging in hobbies is time for us, time to focus on what we enjoy just because it’s fun. And just because it makes us happy.  

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Copyright 2026 Jena Muhr
Images: Canva