This weekend sees me mark my fourth mother’s day – I can’t believe just how quickly that has passed. It seems even stranger that next year, all things being equal, we will be a family of five.
I’ve written before that many of my friends and family would probably have been surprised five or six years ago if they were told that by 2016 I’d be a stay at home mum with two children and a third on the way. I was certainly a million miles from the stereotypical ‘mum’. I’ve never been broody (well other than when we were beginning to think about a third baby) and I certainly couldn’t have imagined myself being a stay at home parent.
Pre children I was working full time in a varied and interesting job. It kept me busy and challenged me at times. I progressed well and, had I stayed in work, I’d be looking for the next challenge by now. I studied part time for my degree and before the changes to tuition fees I was looking at taking a Masters course.
Now, I’m content to spend my evenings planning activities for the children and looking for places to take them that might interest them and capture their imaginations.
I wonder how other people perceive me sometimes. Am I viewed as lacking ambition now that I don’t have a paid job, or is it that my ambition is less measured as its not rewarded through salary increases or promotions? I’ve had people comment that being a mum is sitting around not doing very much. That being a stay at home parent is boring or mind numbing and the old ‘what do you do all day?’
I can genuinely say that it isn’t any of those things, to me at least. I find being a mum challenging but rewarding. When the children delight in an activity that I’ve set up, or they demonstrate a knowledge of something I’ve helped to teach them then it’s worth every moment of frustration or tiredness. Being a mum has taught me that I am much more creative than I ever thought I was and that I can be resourceful when needed. It has taught me patience and, perhaps more importantly, it’s taught me to delight in the simple things in life; to delight in the ordinary as seen through a child’s eyes. I feel like there is always something to do – be it sorting out things for the children, looking at places to go, or just keeping the house ticking over I find I am busy busy busy!
When I first knew we were expecting Mr D I thought I’d be a working mum, I would return to my job part time and he would go to nursery. I’d always planned to take the full 12 months leave, but hadn’t really made plans after that. Being a stay at home parent was never on the cards.
It turns out that I’m probably a little on the ‘out there’ side of parenting. I wrote a post a long while ago about being ‘a hippy mum‘ and I think a lot of the things stay the same. I’m never one for doing online quizzes but I was invited by myvouchercodes to take their quiz to see which celebrity mum I am and was surprised to find it quite accurate! I was deemed to be a Jessica Alba mum – the description seems fairly accurate for me!
We are not quite all natural and all organic, but I do try to cut down sugar intake and keep them eating a fairly healthy diet as well as using cloth nappies etc.
Why not take the quiz yourself – you could even perhaps persuade your other children that you should be treated to the celebrity lifestyle on Sunday! For me, I will be happy with a home made card and a cuddle from both the children – anything else is a bonus
Let me know your thoughts with a comment below