Small Prints I wish I had known

I love being a mum. I would not change it for the world. I have been blessed with two beautiful, healthy and truly happy children. Of course, it goes without saying that it comes with some challenges.

Isaiah went to stay at his cousins for the night… He is usually the problem in the morning. He wakes up with all sorts of demands, Belle usually on the other hand is flexible. I was REALLY looking forward to my relaxing morning, not having to get out of bed early and getting him ready for football, then groceries shopping. The list goes on.

However, that morning, Belle was up early, cranky and inconsolable.  She was up at 4am, cried, moaned, and refused to go back to sleep (maybe due to teething). Hence my relaxing, Sunday morning came to an abrupt end.

This got me thinking, being a mum or a parent of that matter comes with small prints that you only realise through experience. So I thought I would share my personal challenges to offer a better insight into the day-to-day challenges of being a mummy.

Before work, I have to complete the task of: getting myself and the children ready. Simple right? Okay let me get into it . In theory, it seems so easy. But in reality it just doesn’t run that smooth. I usually feed Belle, then get ready, however one morning she refused to eat. After getting ready, I thought to give the feeding another try. Bad idea. Terrible idea. She must have not been hungry, as I pick the bowl to feed her, Belle decided to smack the bowl out of my hands and all over my work clothes and on herself. I had 15 minutes to be out of the door, meanwhile my older child, Isaiah is refusing to eat his porridge (I usually have to spoon feed him his porridge every morning to make sure he eats everything!). Okay, so let’s go over it, I have 15 minutes to be out of the door. I have to get new work outfit (includes ironing), change Belle and make sure my son finishes his porridge. Oh not forgetting that Belle by that time has been up for 2 and a half hours and is tired and cranky.

At that moment, I felt this rush of stress and frustration. But the show must go on. If I sit there feeling sorry for myself, wasting more time, I would be late for work. My manager does not give a damn. I am expected to be at work on time, ready to work. To their credit, they have a business to run, it’s not personal.  After all that, I managed to get ready out the door and at work on time and dive straight into working mode.

I have come to realise that the simple things are actually not so simple. Bathing the child every night may seem simple, but when you have a 5 years old boy who thinks he’s allergic to water. Making a thousand excuses for not getting in the bath night after night. It can drain you.

Or the classic get your baby ready; you are just about to get out of the door, but they decide to do a big fat poo staining their clothes. So you have to clean and change them before your second attempt to leave the house.

Or when your five-year old decides in the middle of a long queue that he desperately needs a ‘weewee’ so you have to drop everything and attend to his needs, because let’s face it, the other option is to let him wet himself in the middle of the shop floor(he will). You just have to move past it and get on with it.

Being a mum, regardless of being a working or staying at home mum is more than meets the eye. Strength is not letting the challenges you face on the daily basis be so obvious. Strength is not cracking under pressure and being resilient. You will fall, it’s not a smooth track but an exciting and fortunate roller coaster. Know and understand that life is not picking on you. There are many others out there experiencing the same challenges you are facing. Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s all part of the job, you just have to be aware and accept the small prints.

Share your challenges and spread the word.

 

Nessa

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