I’ve recently stopped being a Stay-At-Home-Mum (SAHM). I am now a Mostly-At-Work-Mum (MAWM).
It’s Sunday night. Before I pack my bag for work, I have:
- tidied away stacks of drawings of ice-creams, love hearts and roses
- marched up the stairs to tell someone to put away his (Dr Who) Sonic Screwdriver, as he’s meant to be sleeping
- washed wellington boots
- found most of the pieces of a (Star Wars) Republic Assault Ship
- tipped glitter and food crumbs out of school bags
- secretly recycled even more drawings of ice-creams, love hearts and roses.
[Aside: I don’t recall seeing mums in films doing any of these tasks. They spend a lot of time at kitchen benches slicing loaves of sourdough bread, or washing lettuce.]
During the week, I have outsourced a large proportion of my kid-related responsibilities, so these little things I do at night and on weekends keep me connected with them.
We still have some excellent conversations.
My son’s answer to peak oil and energy resource depletion: “Buy a load of dead animals and bury them in the ground.” [This was his variation on the boring old coalification process where coal is formed from prehistoric fossils…]
My daughter was drawing a sea horse. “It’s a French sea horse,” she explained. “Why?” I asked. “Because it’s wearing a bow tie and has a moustache.” Of course.
So let’s get on with that work-life balance.
A life less digital 