I cautiously open one eye and wait for my brain to kick in and determine what day of the week it is and what is on today’s agenda of Things To Do. Saturday. Good – no trains to work, I don’t have to get up yet. Next, I assess by the level of light streaming…
Read MoreChrist, I’m Old
I don’t know if it’s a full moon, or if it’s just that I feel particularly tired lately from the never ending early mornings (thank you 5am sunrises that make young children think it’s the middle of the day), or if it’s just that I’m 38 and noticing changes in myself that are probably just…
Read MoreQuestions from a 4 Year Old
‘Hey Mam? Remember when yesterday – yesterday – yesterday and yesterday we had no crèche?’ That’s how Rian counts days in the past and days in the future. Yesterday-yesterday-yesterday is his way of referring to last Sunday for example, if today is Thursday. And if today is Thursday, tomorrow-tomorrow-tomorrow is how he refers to next…
Read MoreJust Say No [Guilt]
Reading over some of the posts I’ve written, it stood out to me that something that features in a lot of them is guilt. Guilt about work mostly, and missing a lot of time with them, guilt about how I deal with meltdowns, guilt about doing it all wrong. When those waves of guilt appear…
Read MoreSquishy Mama
20 things that women should stop wearing after the age of 30: 1-20: The weight of other people’s expectations and judgements. Maura Quint ‘Oh Mama, you’re just so squishy!’ Rian first said this to me months ago, he spontaneously ran over to me, flung his arms around my legs, squeezed me as hard as his…
Read More10,000 Kisses
{Originally published January 2016} When Rian was born, we got loads of practical and thoughtful gifts for him. One of the gifts we got was a memory box – well actually we got two beautiful ones – and I love them. However, there are some things you can’t put into the memory boxes or the…
Read MoreFinding the Balance – The Working Mother
“What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” -Sheryl Sandberg Maybe it’s just me, or maybe it’s not me but just a phase I’m going through right now. Whatever ‘it’ is, it has me feeling very uncertain about things in my life at the moment. Maybe it’s because 40 is hurtling down the road at…
Read MoreFor When They Ask: ‘Where Did We Come From Mam?’
There’s an app called Timehop that I love. It takes you on a daily trip down memory lane, showing you photos and videos ‘on this day’ style. With the sheer amount of photos and videos on our phones it’s easy for things to get lost in a sea of forgotten moments, so I love this…
Read MoreThe Eldest Child – 3 Things He’s Taught Me
As an eldest child myself with three younger sisters, I often noticed the frustrating unfairness that sometimes came with being the eldest. Often getting blamed for stuff just because I was older ‘and should know better’, and often finding that rules that had once applied to me, suddenly no longer applied to the youngest child.…
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