Work life balance - easier said than done!

Today was not a good day!  My youngest daughter, Annie, has decided she doesn't want to go to pre-school.  This is a surprise as we started the year with such high hopes.  Just 3 weeks ago this was her going off for her first day

She's beyond excited about starting pre-school.

However 3 weeks is a long time for a 3 year old. This is what she thought of it today.

We had tears all the way there and constant cries of "I don't want to go to pre-school'' - just take a dagger to my heart.  I dropped her off and she made a run for it, this was definitely a new development, thankfully I caught her, pried her off me and left feeling like the worst Mum in the world.

Now as we've had a few issues with pre-school this week her gradual entry has been lengthened, so for the hour and half she's there it's not worth negotiating 3 lots of roadworks to get home, turning on the computer for five mins and then heading out to pick her up, in the process using half a tank of gas and destroying the planet.  No problem, I had the lap-top with me and so headed for the coffee bar, free internet access and caffiene to boot.  The first problem was no electrical socket, the second was although my lap-top battery said it had 53 mins left within five of those minutes it had died - and I still had half a cappuccino to drink.

I then discovered my ever helpful husband had removed the large bunch of extra keys from my keyring that I'd had to carry 'round for him yesterday (don't ask) and had inadvertently removed the house keys!!! So I wandered aimlessly 'round waiting to pick Annie up then hastily scooted to my husbands work, picked up his keys and then had to stop at 2 grocery stores before dashing homewards, picking up the eldest daughter on the way who only had a half day of school due to parent teacher interviews. It was all far too much for everyone.  Annie was still worked up about school, I was worked up about not getting any work done, my eldest was worked up about the fact she's so tired she can't function, Grade 1 is really taking it out of her.  So my Mummy vision should have spotted the checkout meltdown a mile away, all over a packet of Tic Tacs, we had screams, stomping of the feet and tears - and that was just me!!  When things get that bad I like to think of my kids like this, asleep, cute and causing no trouble.

Now they're both in bed, asleep and tomorrow is another day. It did get me thinking that although much is said about women working and bringing up kids and finding the balance between the two but when you don't have an office to retreat to and you are responsible for all the pick ups, drop offs, playdates, doctors appts, field trips, etc, etc, balance is a very elusive state to find.

On that profound note I thought it was time for a beer and once again I delved into the world of Etsy to see what delights they had.  Check them out here


 I hope your day was infinitely better than mine and poor Annie's.