Friday 11 June 2010

Have your cake and...


I'm having a dilemma. The career woman in me is trying to get out. The mummy in me is pushing her back. What to do?

When we moved to Suffolk and started a family we knew that the balance was going to shift between James and I. We'd always been equal earners and enjoyed having a career. Now James wins the bread and I look after the family. We have a fantastic life in a gorgeous part of the country with our amazing girls and we really are very happy. And yet I would just love to sample that feeling again of achieving something not related to childcare, housework or cooking. Does that make me a bad mummy? I think not because fundamentally I choose mummy over career. As the lovely Spudbaloo said last night - do I really want anyone else to take Grace to ballet? Would I want anyone else watching her at swimming lessons? And the answer is, of course, no.

So yes, I am wanting to have my cake and eat it. And that's not possible. But I think it's time to find some kind of balance. I'm freelancing again but only one day a week which doesn't really feel like real work. Spudbaloo thinks I need a hobby, anyone know where I can find one?

(p.s the cake is Grace's 3rd birthday cake - a child-related achievement but I did enjoy it even though I needed a JD & Coke to get me through the icing phase. I did cheat slightly though and I ordered the instructions from: www.bake-my-cakes.com - very handy!!)