Being Mum

People often ask me “what do you do all day?” and “do you miss working?” The answer to the latter is no, if circumstances were different maybe I would, but for me time is precious and doing things around my family is key. I do miss getting dressed for work and the social interaction that working in an office environment brings. Jeans and comfy shoes have become a staple in my wardrobe, no more heels and smart outfits. I definitely don’t miss the daily commute and for those of you who are London commuters, I know its soul destroying, but think happy thoughts and do your best to ignore that person in your personal space. I don’t miss the constant juggle of working full time with trying to do the best by my children. What I’ve learnt is that there is a balance in life and if able to, you’ve got to let go of past priorities to make time for the things in life that make you happy, rather than what you think you have to do out of necessity. Although life has thrown us some lemons, I’m not stressed like I was when I was working and life is good, life is happy.

To answer the question “what do you do all day?”, I’m making lemonade! Looking after children is busy work and a child with additional needs is even more time consuming. Aiya has numerous appointments every week and on a busy week we can have something on every day, on top of the rolling home visits of physio, portage, sensory support and speech and language. We also have the daily task of trying to get Aiya to wear her hearing aids and carrying out the activities left by the teams that visit us. Just like any other parent would do in my circumstances, I have made it my job to do the best I can to help Aiya reach her full potential. I go on courses, I read books and I’m constantly researching and asking for advice on things that I can do to support Aiya’s development. My life is consumed with how to make her life better and although it may not have been the path that I envisaged for myself, it’s the path that has given the most meaning to my life.

Some people may look at me and think life must be hard, but it’s not. In reality life is so much easier as it’s been stripped back to what is important – family, living in the moment, enjoying and being grateful for what we have right now. We’re often guilty of chasing more, but if we stop and look at what we’ve got it’s probably someone else’s dream and more than most people in the world have.