Guilt Trip

Being a parent can often feel like one big guilt trip, you fear you’re not doing things right, one day on a short fuse and you worry the damage done to your children is irreplaceable.

(Image via)

I intended to make this week family time, with the husband off of work and a few days’ work free myself, I had big plans. We would re-decorate, bake some cakes, play some board games and generally chill out following a hectic few months. What I didn’t count on was the guilt I would feel by not working.

You know that unshakable feeling you have when you have a big essay due in for uni? That pressure doesn’t stop when you enter the world of work, all week I have had a lingering urge to get some writing done. Even when sieving flour into my baking bowls I mentally penned a blog post. My ideas came crashing to a halt three nights ago when the littlest became suddenly unwell. One minute we’re reading ‘that’s not my hamster’ and the next he’s gone all floppy. Don’t worry people Baby Roo is fine, with a temp of 40+ we raced off to the hospital, cursing our decision to follow the good life in the country….. What a relief to know he has a bad, but perfectly curable case of tonsillitis.

I remember putting the eldest in nursery with a bad cold once, so I could get some work done for university, I feel a pang of guilt about this now. I can hear the gasps of horror from other mothers as I type this. Why put myself and my children through this? oh, its easy to say we need the extra income but the truth is with the cost of a nanny and a cleaner, I would be better off not working sometimes.

Truth is I can’t be a full time mum; I want more for my life.

Here’s the good news though…. The silver lining! Seven reasons why it’s great to be a working mummy….

1) My Children will grow up surrounded by literature and academia.

2) They will be instilled with a strong sense of male/female equality (not only do mums earn, dads chip in with housework too).

3) The time I dedicate to my children will be special, planned and thought-out.

4) As a family we can enrich their lives with travel.

5) They will come into contact with our friends and colleagues who have passion and knowledge set apart from the monotony of home.

6) They will have a good routine, regular sleep patterns (as routine is essential for us parents to get our work done)

7) Mummy and Daddy have a stronger relationship as separate pursuits encourage communication, renewed interest, admiration and less of the resentment found in traditional roles.

Its true what they say, Happy Mummy, Happy Children.

Tags: guilt happiness happy children life lessons mothers parenting working mums

Categories: Empowerment: Man! I feel Like a Woman!