When are you going back to work? When is your Mat leave finished? What are your plans to go back to work? When will you go back to teaching?
I have lost count of the amount of people who have asked me these questions, and I don’t hold it against them, it’s the way of western culture to expect Mums to do it all. We are expected to have enough time for our babies, our partners, our families, cook nourishing meals, exercise, be mindful, be a fantastic employee or run our own thriving businesses and something has got to give.
There is so much pressure put on mums to return to the workforce and it is so amazing that we have that option now, but what if you are content not to return to the daily grind?
I adore the work I am doing with Mother Space, I love teaching yoga and I get so much joy out of teaching part time. I just love being a teacher!
But I also love my days with Sofia, they are slow and sometimes they are long but they are where I felt most content. I love snuggling with her in the morning, sipping coffee as I watch her play with her toys and read her books, cooking my family nourishing meals using vegetables straight from our garden.
I love putting time and effort into our girl and I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to do so. I also want to acknowledge that it is a sacrifice. I think no matter what option you choose, it’s never easy.
If you are a new mum and you are noticing huge shifts in your identity you may even feel that you have outgrown a past career or that things have changed radically and it is time to step into something new.
For me, I have known for a while that my calling is to work with pregnant women and mothers but it wasn’t until I brought Sofia into the world that I really had the courage to step into this line of work.
If you are someone who has decided to care for your little one full time, know that I see you and I acknowledge the tremendous amount of sacrifice and love you put into nurturing your children each and every day. A lot of it is invisible work but you need to be recognised and honoured for the important work you are doing.
‘Just being a mother’ is more than enough, never feel like a failure because you haven’t been able to fling yourself back into a job that potentially never lit you up in the first place.
