oh to have a dog's life!

Another Friday is upon us. This is the last Friday at my current job, I have two days left next week before I move on to a new job for six months. Thereafter, only time will tell. Academia is like that, tiresome, unpredictable and ruthless. I guess many other sectors are like that, too. Still, I enjoy my work when I have work and these past two years have been immensely enjoyable. I can't imagine not working, it is just not me (I have tried). My new post will allow me to be home when school is out, something which makes my heart beat faster with excitement. These past two years of full time work have been relentless and I missed having a bit more time for being a mum. I have delegated so many traditional mum jobs to my older children that the mountain of guilt I carry is sometimes too big to see past. The shear impossibility of finding childcare really didn't leave any other option than asking the older ones to take care of the little ones after school, giving them snacks, listening to their stories, doing homework. Sometimes they even cook dinner.

I am quite exited about my new job and I am really looking forward to a new challenge. I am also really looking forward to taking the not so little ones to the park after school or even taking them for their long overdue dental checkup. I am looking forward to being a bit less grumpy (ever so optimistic).

You see, I may seem like super woman sometimes, for example when I show you my newest makes or tell you about our latest adventures but really, I am just as vulnerable to the pressures of a modern life as everybody else. To be able to do all I want to do, I have to make choices every day, something always has to give. I choose to stay up late so I can work on that quilt/blanket/cardigan. I choose to see past the pile of shoes in the porch and I choose not to make my bed (or anyone else's) in the morning even though I would love love to turn out the bed in the evening and slip into the smooth covers for a good nights sleep. My children's toe nails are not always clipped when they should be and sometimes they go to school with a dirty uniform. I choose to listen to audiobooks instead of reading a book because it allows me to double task even though turning the pages of crisp new books is one of my favourite things to do. I spend next to no time on my appearance, my hair is a mess and I have a style that defies description. My experience of the world is rather limited, I spend far too little time informing myself about current affairs. I have given up pretty much all other commitments that I enjoyed or thought were important to support (community club, PTA etc). I am often in a foul mood.

Making choices is important but being in the right support framework is even more important. I have a husband who does as much in the house as I do. For him I am grateful. And of course I have Sam and Annie that help when help is needed, sometimes with rather more huffing and puffing and shouting than is strictly necessary but who am I to complain?

I am energetic, which helps.

So, next time I show you a beautiful finished object (soon) or a particularly pretty corner of my house (soon) remember the pile of shoes in my porch and the still unwashed macaroni and cheese dish slowly coming to life in the kitchen sink.

Not really sure where that all came from, I really just wanted write that I am looking forward to working less:-)

Have a lovely weekend xx