I remember asking my mum as a child, as I saw her working hard every day until late: “When is your work going to finish, mum?” Her reply stayed with me forever. She told me, juggling cooking and helping us with homework: “Never, it will only end when my days end!” At the time, I found her answer weird and stuck in the “weird things mums say sometimes” box, in a corner of my consciousness.

Now that I am a mum, I totally get what my mum said back then. Although I don’t work in the traditional sense of the word at the moment, my “work” never ends either.

A typical weekday for me at the moment includes playgroup runs, shopping errands, blog posting, PR email approaching…and this only describes my mornings. Once I pick Emma up from playgroup, it’s lunch prep, drama, ballet and girls’ brigade lessons. Then rushing home to cook wholesome dinners for the family, packing lunches for hubby and ironing/laundry/house cleaning. And if you thought I had the evenings to myself to relax, you would speak metaphorically for most times. I would normally spend my evening catching up with my Open University course material and only in very rare occasions, relax with a movie. More often than not, I crawl in bed exhausted close to midnight only to start the same routine  early in the morning.

I love what I do and who I am at the moment. I have recently contemplated  “letting go” of some of my daily tasks (since I got pregnant I have had trouble sleeping and found some days overwhelming due to lack of rest) but I concluded that these are things I have chosen to do for the well-being of my family and, more importantly, to maintain my mental health. I know, it sounds strange, but keeping busy with studying for better job prospects and trying to “earn” some money/products through my blogging gives me energy to go through the day as I have tasks and goals I set myself and strive to achieve. And ticking through the boxes during the day gives me immense satisfaction that in return fuels me with energy for the following day!

I have also considered the challenges of modern motherhood as society-imposed norms and criteria. I suppose I am not immune to them, no-one is, as long as they live in community, alongside other fellow human beings. But my strive to contribute to my family’s finances and the desire to gain better employment come primarily from within me, as a deep longing to be useful and to role-model a good example for my daughter.

To conclude, I would say modern motherhood presents its own set of unique challenges.  Truly, it is a daily juggle of tasks and self-imposed goals but at the end of the day, for most mums, it is a choice joyfully and responsibly assumed.

This is my entry to the Mum Network Trusted Blogger Club Autumn Blog Carnival, hope you have enjoyed reading it!