Summer lovin’ had me a blast. Now it’s Autumn and a Happy New School Year to you!
What a summer it has been – our first foray into the school holidays as parents, which was not quite as relaxing as I remember it to be as a child, watching endless episodes of ‘Saved By The Bell’ and ‘Goonies’ on VHS before heading down to Nan and Grandads. Each summer my sister and I would dutifully head to the Grandparents whilst my parents did the grafting.
I guess there is an early memory of being part of a family with a working Mum. I remember after having the eldest I felt really guilty at times not having a ‘job’ (hello, can you say workaholic?). Then remembered that a) I was grateful to be a Mum 2) if I wasn’t there someone would be paid to look after the baby and F) my Mum took about 9 years off work to raise my sister and I and then headed back to work in admin. This gave me sucker, and helped defy that pesky little Mother Guilt devil. If I turn back my mind I can even remember curling up at her feet whilst she did some freelance typing - what a trailblazer!
Sadly, my parents don’t live down the road like my Grandparents did and my children won’t become as highly skilled at Bingo and rummy as me and my sister did over the summer hols. This summer, juggling work, kids, nursery, holiday play schemes, playdates and actual holidays (which aren’t reallyholidays with children, they are ‘trips’ as any relaxation you’ll be having is when your asleep) has been no mean feat. *Nerd Alert*, I used my transferable skills from work and drew up a spreadsheet- a major weapon in my parental arsenal against total chaos. We all got where we needed to go, relatively on time, and back again.
So to sum up: inspiration is right under your nose, kick your mother guilt to the curb, and spreadsheets will save the world. Happy Autumn!
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