The Ideal Mother isn’t kind. She might only be a cultural myth. But this idealisation of the perfect caregiver is a harmful omnipresence in all of our families. The notion of the Ideal Mother – as portrayed in misogynist rags…
Mother
Escape to Bristol – a weekend away by myself
I spent last weekend in Bristol by myself after weeks fantasizing about my escape. Escape from what? I’m not sure – Family life? Motherhood? Midlife? Myself? Probably all of those things. I turn 42 this weekend and it can’t be…
You’re a superhero, you’re a goddess, you’re a mother
It starts when the alarm goes off – or sooner if you have an early riser in your brood. You haven’t had that first hit of coffee before one of them is crawling into bed beside you, freezing small feet…
How To Create A Happy Mother Daughter Relationship
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about motherhood recently, specifically around how to make sure my girl and I have a happy mother daughter relationship – one that serves both of us long into the future. Like many mums…
Making do, settling in and red lines: Week One in our new home
Week One in our new home and I have morphed from Stoic Camper – bravely ignoring the shower and kitchen sink as I muddled through a few days trying to keep house in an alien environment – to Florence Nightingale…
Letting go
Sometimes you just have to cross your fingers and hope it works out. Hard that. For a control freak like myself. I like to know how things are going to pan out. And, if possible, have them pan out my…
How to stay calm this summer holiday
Tomorrow is the last day of term for my two. Then we’ll be together for six full weeks of holiday fun. Optimistic me is happy about this. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my kids and we’ve got…
While you are sleeping
It’s the tenderest part of our day – giving you both a goodnight kiss as you sleep peacefully in your beds. It’s the end to our evening rituals. First, we lock the house up, to keep us all safe as…
Competition for resources (or stupid reasons you fight with your partner)
– Gah, I’m so tired. – YOU’RE tired? I’m the one who had to get up twice for the kids last night. – I’ve had a horrible day at work. – Well at least you got out of the…
How to survive the school run
Me and the school run have a love/hate relationship. This morning has been pretty awful. My girl went crazy with the surgical tape in bed last night (now safely back in the first aid kit). She stuck strip after strip…
May you always be this brave
‘I don’t want to have babies,’ Nell announces, pretty regularly. She’s only four, and it makes me smile that, although she’s quite happy to swaddle her stuffed baby elephant, she has no inclination for a human baby – plastic or…
How to survive the Furious Fours (kinda)
It’s been a truly horrible morning. Who knew that buttoning a cardigan could cause so much anger, frustration and distress? But it can when there’s a four-and-a-half-year-old involved. At least when it’s my four-and-a-half-year-old. My daughter is going through what…