A Conversation With Stephanie Morabe Harper, Writer, Gardener, And Full-Time Mom
On starting Raising Wild Kids, using her free time to learn about gardening and anti-racism, and finding inspiration in others
Stephanie Morabe Harper is the founder of the blog Raising Kids Wild, a writer for Outdoor Families Magazine, a Vasque ambassador, and an author of a forthcoming children’s book. She and her husband are raising their four kids in Asheville, North Carolina, where they love to explore the local trails and Blue Ridge Mountains whenever they can. They started their lives together in Oakland and Dublin, California, where Stephanie is originally from and still has family and friends.
Aside from gushing over our mutual love of the Bay Area’s golden hills, we also caught up about meditation as a creative form, her writing process and current projects, and knowing to pause a passion when it starts feeling like a chore.
How do you describe what you do?
I am a full-time mom and freelance writer who loves the outdoors.
Why did you start your blog, Raising Kids Wild?
When my husband and I met 12 years ago, we were living in Dublin and then Oakland. We came together as a blended family with three kids and we had a daughter together. We found our niche in just being outside. We really exhausted all the trails during our seven years in Dublin. We know that when we don’t get outside a lot, it affects us physically and mentally. I started Raising Kids Wild in 2016. I really wanted to help make the connection for other families, specifically families of color and blended families. There are not a lot of women of color who are family bloggers. There are maybe 50 or 60 family bloggers and only four of us who are women of color. The other three are Melissa of Chasqui Mom, and Karen of Play Outside Guide, and Dineo of Wisconsin Adventure Family.
(Stephanie’s blended family celebrating her son’s graduation.)
How do you plan content and what are you writing about nowadays?
In the beginning, it was definitely more scheduled. If I posted once or twice a month, that felt regular to me. As the years went on, it felt like more of a job. I started to enjoy it less. It was stressful. There’s a hierarchy within the family blogger community that sidesteps race and color. There were things that I wanted to bring up, but I didn’t know how to parallel that with the urgency of posting. A year ago, I kind of stepped back and reevaluated. I started doing more work for Outdoor Families Magazine instead.
The other women of color and I felt like we were sharing our experiences and getting a lot of feedback from blended families or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) families out on the trail, but nobody else was writing about it. There wasn’t a lot of support or resources. We were the only four and believe me, we looked and looked. I kind of lost motivation for it and then COVID hit. I want to make sure that if I go back out writing again on the blog, that it’s true to who we are and that we have enough support. It doesn’t mean it’s going away forever, it just means that for right now, I’m trying to figure out a way to fold myself back in more authentically and so that it feels clearer for me.
A few of Stephanie’s recent stories:
3 New Ways to Enjoy Your Favorite Trail (Raising Kids Wild)
A Women’s Guide to Dealing with Menstruation in the Great Outdoors, Because Period (Outdoor Families Magazine)
Can you explain your writing process?
I like to write a lot of notes. I love pen and paper so much. I’m such a diehard when it comes to my notepad. I guess you could say I’m one of those people who is hard to physically tear away from writing. If something moves me when I’m outside, like if I’m hiking or running, I’ll write in my notepad when I come back. Then I’ll refer to it when I’m actually writing a piece.
As far as content writing, I like to just open whatever document I’m working on, go at it, and then edit it afterwards.
As a contractor and freelancer, how do you set rates and what makes up the most of your income?
I don’t really have a rate because I’m still not comfortable with that. I wish there were a guide or something we could refer to. My editor at Outdoor Families Magazine pays me $100 an article that’s 500 words or less. It’s doable for me. She’s very fair, she even pays me a couple hundred extra a month just to do some social media stuff. That feels fine because I don’t rely on that as my total income. To be honest, my husband’s salary is supporting us. We’re living on his income and the little bit of money that I’m bringing in. We have four kids and so we’re privileged and grateful that we’re in a place we can do that, otherwise I’d have to get a full-time job. I have the space to hone in on my craft.
How did work challenge you recently?
I created a 30-day re-wilding challenge for Outdoor Families Magazine. There were a lot of parents saying they needed to do stuff outdoors with our kids at home. The challenge involves finding an activity outside of your home, in your backyard or your front yard, that you can bring inside as a family. As I was doing this challenge, a week in, I’m like shit, I have to come up with 30 activities. It challenged me to think out of the box as far as what we could do creatively in the confines of our home and backyard area. That was really fun and challenging.
Access the 30-day re-wilding challenge calendar here.
What inspires you?
People, movement, learning new things, and being outside
(Stephanie’s garden has been a space for her to learn about the earth. She uses items in her garden to make tinctures, syrups, and flower arrangements.)
What are you learning more about right now? How are you using your creative time?
Living in the mountains, it’s such a rich environment to learn about the trees and the plants that I’m surrounded with. During COVID, I’ve been able to learn about the things growing in my garden and the ways I can help people around me. Aside from writing, I’ve been bundling flower arrangements and making a ton of herbal tinctures. It sounds really hippie-dippy but it’s really fun. I’m also cooking a lot. Latria Graham, a friend and writer, had some work up here and visited. I made her a pack of lumpia (a type of spring roll from Indonesia and the Philippines) and we socially-distanced hugged each other. It was so nice to see her face and smile and just be in her presence.
What are some different creative tools you rely on?
I rely heavily on meditation, which I started doing about a year and a half ago. I try to not meditate on the weekends just because I can see the difference and I leave some leeway to do my own spiritual work within the day. During the week, I meditate every morning. It’s the first thing I do. It’s only for 5 to 10 minutes. I’ll sit down and use the Headspace app. I also started using the Liberate app, which is fully geared for BIPOC folks. I needed extra emphasis on work that I could be doing as a person of color. When I start my day off with mediation, it feels like I can ease into my day rather than getting up, fixing the bed, asking my husband to help me with a task. All of that takes place still, but at least there’s not a sense of urgency like there was before. I definitely think that increases productivity as opposed to stunting it throughout the day.
In what ways do your creative projects fill you up?
When I was working full-time when my kids were younger, I wasn’t really allowed time to have creative projects. I had less time with my kids to do creative things. Now, I have the space to delve into some deeper topics regarding racial justice and my own culture and my upbringing that I never had to face before in my life. Slowing down and having the time and space to do it feels good to me and I’m really grateful to have it. My hope is that once I figure out if I want to start working more regularly, my goal is to be in a really good headspace to do that.
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Before you go…
#ShopWomenLed on Nov. 25 this year (Women-Led Wednesday)
This obituary for Ruth Bader Ginsburg is worth your time (The New York Times)
Out There, Nobody Can Hear You Scream (Latria Graham for Outside)