As we find ourselves in a time of being a mother in a totally new way, our normal is completely turned on its head. The routine of breakfast, school/nursery drop, commute, day at work, home etc has gone. Our old ways have left the building.
All of a sudden working mothers are at home, managing kids and trying to work. It is a tricky combo. If your job has you on conference calls you will 100% have had your child be part of those calls in the last month. Your normal childcare is more than likely out of the window and you are flying solo, or with your partner.
So how do we be authentic? It has surprised me how many mothers are pretending to be superstar home teachers or joke about doing nothing at all. I know a mother who gets up and runs every morning before her teens are up yet posts on Instagram that they are all still in their PJs at lunch time. And I know a mother who posts up she is running a school regime at home and is doing nothing of the sort.
The motivation for his blog is to remind us all that whatever the authentic you is, it is the real deal. Ignore the Instagram pressure as what you see on social media isn’t always true, and all we can do is give it our best shot. If you are not the home school type, hey, its a matter of weeks, the kids will bounce back. If you are the kind of mother who needs a workout in the morning and can make it happen, then go do it. If you are a Mum who rocks the online tutor system, you are a superstar.
The message here is do what you want to do for your family. No judgement, no pretending, no bullsh*t. Just be your authentic self. Your kids will thank you for it and it will be closer to your normal family environment. The pressure to run geography classes whilst taking on a conference call on a spin bike is too much and can have us feeling like a failure. The downfall of that can be an anxiety filled afternoon, frantically trying to plan something for the kids, and whilst in said head spin, I am not present with the kids or listening.
Moral of the story, be you. Run your home the way you want to run it, and if everyone is dressed by mid morning, has had breakfast and you are all still functioning in good health during lockdown, you have surpassed yourself. Give yourself credit and a pat on the back, and know you are being your authentic you.