Starting preschool.

Anna — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 10:40:36 +0000

Back in March we attended the open day at Seth’s preschool to be. At the time it made me sad thinking about my little boy growing up. Now here we are, six months on. Seth started preschool today. When Aoife was at preschool I was pregnant with Seth, walking up and down that sodding mountain to drop her off and pick her up whilst lugging my great, big bump along with me. Now, three and a bit years on I’ll be walking that very human I was growing, up and down that hill. Seth still doesn’t feel old enough to be starting preschool. He can’t quite do his shoes yet. His words are still a little jumbled when he’s excited. He can’t be bothered/gets to engrossed to take himself to the toilet. Listening hasn’t made it quite onto his ‘skills’ list yet. And sometimes shoving seems more persuasive than asking… Before taking Seth, we had to drop Aoife at school. When the bell went I called her over to give her a kiss before she stood in line…! I got her forehead! My goodbye kiss was denied. I can’t handle this level of rejection today. We then pootled of to preschool. We swapped shoes for pumps. Put the money in the piggy and the water on the shelf. Seth took his name card to his teacher and wandered into the classroom. I called him back to kiss him goodbye. He offered his forehead! Why do you cast me aside today? OF ALL THE DAYS WHY TODAY? Today is the beginning of the end. The start of my smallest not needing me quite so much. The start of him turning to other grown ups in a moment of need or upset. Today is the start of me feeling not quite so important anymore. Not just as a mum but as a person. See for six years I’ve been a stay at home mum, it’s been tough but I’ve loved it. I’ve felt I’ve had to justify myself a LOT over that time but it was OK because I could. I was looking after my children. Now, for two and a half days a week I’m not a stay at home mum. I’m just, well, nothing. I am redundant. I’m just a woman with outdated skills waiting for 3pm so I can start being a mum again. I do intend to use this time to work on my blog (yet another area I feel I have to justify a lot) so I can free up evenings. I hope to be able to better my skills so I can earn some money. But right now, sitting here in the silence with no one demanding brioche. I just feel useless. Entirely useless, with no purpose and contributing nothing to, well, anything. I’ve been dreading this day for a while now, selfishly hoping it wouldn’t come. I’m sad my babies are gone, I have children now. They’ve entered the education system where other adults, who’s every word they will hang on, will see them more than me. I’m no longer the most important person in their life, the font of all knowledge (whether fact or otherwise). I’m also sad because at this very moment I feel I have no purpose. It’s the start of a new chapter. Not just for them but for me and it scares the shit out of me. I’ll be totally over it once they’re both home.

The post Starting preschool. appeared first on Me, Annie Bee..

Hey Wills, you’re not alone.

Anna — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 12:21:28 +0000

Last week, during a visit to Vietnam, Prince William admitted he struggled with parenthood. The internet was vicious! HOW VERY DARE HE? cried Twitter. “U don’t know meaning of struggle”* “This man has no idea what it means to struggle in life” *SLOW HAND CLAP* Well done the internet. You completely missed the point. I don’t for one minute believe that when William said he struggled he meant that he was strapped for cash or he was weighed down with laundry. He wasn’t admitting he found it a struggle because they need a new boiler but the kids need new shoes. He isn’t talking about a materialistic struggle. He is talking about a mental struggle. The one many of us go through when we question every little decision we make and action we take. When we second guess the impact the words we say will have on our children in years to come. The struggle of feeling like your wading through treacle rather than frolicking in leaves. The struggle of making decisions based on the impact it will have on a whole family unit rather than the impact it will have on yourself. The struggle of trying to encourage your children to be thankful, thoughtful, caring and kind little humans. It’s bloody hard work. The struggle of parenthood isn’t a working class/upper-class argument. It doesn’t matter how much money we have. It doesn’t matter how big or small a support network we have surrounding us. We can all find ourselves struggling for one reason or another. I’ve said it before, none of us go into parenthood thinking it will be a breeze but we can’t truly prepare for the impact on our lives whether it be our first, second or third (I assume). To sit behind a keyboard telling someone they aren’t allowed to declare parenting a struggle is a cop out. None of us have the right to decide that someone else can’t find things difficult because they have more money than us or a bigger house. It’s not for us to decide who is allowed to struggle and who isn’t. It’s also not for us to decide whose struggles are worse than others. It’s for us to support others who are struggling, if we can. Parenting levels the field. No matter how rich or poor we are we’ve all been sicked on. We’ve all discovered that questionable mark on our top once we enter polite company. We’ve all had pasta thrown at us. We’ve all questioned whether it’s a freckle or a speck of shit on our arm Give the man a break. He may be heir to the throne but he’s still a parent like the rest of us and I applaud him for admitting this. Wills, if you’re reading this, if you ever need a chat about this whole family/parenting malarky just drop me a line. You, Catherine and the children can pop round for tea and a chat. *No one is actually going to take offence at something written by someone who can’t even be bothered to write the whole word ‘you’.

The post Hey Wills, you’re not alone. appeared first on Me, Annie Bee..

change Archives : Me, Annie Bee.

Starting preschool.

Hey Wills, you’re not alone.