“I know,” I thought to myself this morning at 11.15am, “I’ll eat my lunch now so that when she wakes up, I can feed her and then I can throw her bedding into a quick wash as it’s quite nice outside today, then I’ll get her dressed in those new leggings and probably a tee shirt, because, again, nice outside and I’ll stick her jacket in the buggy basket, but while the kettle boils, I better run upstairs and change my top and slap on some makeup while she’s still asleep because it’ll be nice to run into town and browse Waterstones for a bit, maybe get a snack in Pret, but then we’ve got nothing for dinner so I should swing by Lidl or Sainsburys and get something for dinner…” then my phone bleeps and it’s a text from Robin asking me to book a slot for the role play center tomorrow afternoon, but DUH rookie error, everyone knows you can’t book anything kid related last minute for a weekend and and and and….
oh my gosh.
This is my brain, and it’s not even noon. My cup of tea has gone cold.
My best friend said to me that she didn’t know what Mums did all day at home. Even as I tried explaining it to her what a typical day was like I could hear it coming out of my mouth and it didn’t sound like a big deal but the reality is that it’s a constant spinning plates-and-juggling act. You’re dealing with one thing but thinking ahead to the next million things. All in the name of sanity and efficiency to keep your life running smoothly.
Sometimes a small hand reaches out and yanks your hair to stop herself from tumbling over and I feel like that paints a picture of the day itself. Sometimes it’s bumping into the Vicar from Call the Midwife in the park and your hair is in a greasy bun with no makeup, wearing a pair of saggy, baggy shorts that you can’t remember when you last washed, as your toddlers chase a ball together.
So today, as I scoffed a bowl of instant noodles at 11:20am, with a newly painted face, hair in a just so top knot, and a Tan France french tucked tee shirt into a pair of clean jeans- I will do all of the above errands and must-do’s but at least look like I’ve got my ish together.
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