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…
family
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…
Sleep is (not) for the weak
I can’t function on less than 8 hours’ sleep. And I have to say that sleeping is now one of my favourite past times. In fact, I’d take sleep over most other night-time activities – hands down. I’m (thankfully) not…
The great unhoming of home
We’re all feeling uprooted at the moment. We’re living in a kind of limbo. Someday – hopefully soonish – we’ll be uprooting our family from our home in North Cornwall to a new house near Falmouth. The actual move still…
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…
A mother’s CV
Mummy Curriculum vitae PERSONAL STATEMENT Dedicated, hard-working and supremely adaptable individual seeks more credit for doing a bloody hard job seven days a week. RELEVANT EXPERIENCE Leadership: skilled in growing, educating, nurturing, managing and caring for two small human…
Happy New Year already!
Happy 2018! I know I’m a couple of days early but, truly, we’re done with 2017. Really done. So much so that it already feels like 2018 in our house. So I’m saying it now, while I’m still feeling the…