I know that all parents work.
From the moment we open our eyes in the morning to the moment we close them at night (and then often open them again two hours later) - we are working.
Our kids are our Number 1 bosses, and that's a fact. We are at their mercy and mostly have to squeeze our lives in and around their needs and demands.
But what if you have another boss, one you are also answerable to: to be there on time, to follow a particular set of rules and to get a particular amount of work done in a specific way for the happy exchange of money to pay the bills?
Well then you have multiple bosses and must adjust yourself accordingly!
I find myself doing the most bizarre things in order to keep all the bosses in my life happy - here are just some of them:
1. Making Meals At 10pm
If you are going to be at work all day the following day, you need to still make sure that there is food for everyone's lunch and dinner. We find ourselves finishing our own meals at night when the kids are gone to bed and then diving right into making the next day's dinner. It's like a production line!
2. Watching The Ironing Pile Grow
Our laundry situation is out of control at the best of times but when you are working long days outside of the house it's extra hard to get to. Every morning before I run out the door I spy the ironing basket, getting taller and taller and taunting me, 'You'll never get to the bottom of this!!' It's a two-hour Ironathon in our house on days off.
3. Missing Your Kids
Sure, I complain that my kids can be super annoying when I'm constantly around them but the flip-side of that is that I really miss them when I don't see them. There are some days that I say goodbye to them at 9am and then they're asleep by the time I get back. I'd nearly wake them up for a cuddle but.. I'm not totally crazy.
4. Getting Up Before Everyone Else
I don't know if this is perhaps a good life skill that being a working mum has taught me but I now get up before everyone else if I need to get anything done. I might just leave the house for a little walk with my headphones in, I might do the blasted ironing, I'll get my shower in, I might just answer a couple of emails. As soon as the monkeys are up, it's game on until the childminder comes for the handover.
5. Worrying About The Dog
It was bad enough that our poor little Westie was so neglected when the kids came along but now I've abandoned her completely for long days every week! She has been expressing her disgust by magically locating cat poop in our area and rubbing herself in it so that I have to bath and dry her. Which always ends in treats. Well played, Pearl, well played.
6. Putting Your Make Up On In The Car
There isn't any other time to do it - there isn't!! Just make sure you're fully stopped in the car if you're about to do it, mamas!
7. Managing The Childcare
We are lucky to have an amazing childminder who comes to our house every morning to mind the kids, but there is a lot of organising around that. There are pick ups and drops offs to schedule, making decisions if one of the kids are sick or has a fall, asking grandparents or friends to cover if one of us is going to be late, making sure everyone is paid, co-ordinating dates - it's a juggle!
8. Second-guessing Yourself
If you want or need to work, that is a decision that you make but you don't make it lightly. You wonder all the time if everyone's needs are being met and worry about doing the wrong thing one way or the other.
Which is parenting all over!
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