As a mother and wife, I feel a constant pull to be everything to everyone and be everywhere. This combined with the pressure of working can become overwhelming and unfortunately my hubby and children wear the short end of the stress stick. Yes, they puts up with my moods, and there are many, which can change at the drop of a hat and sees our somewhat peaceful household descend into a hormonal house of horrors.
Life becomes a bit of a blur and I am sure that there are many other women out there who feel exactly the same. Between work, kids, after school activities and home, there seems to be very little time in the week that I could honestly say is ‘my time’. Just getting the time to put these thoughts down on paper without interruption is a challenge. It is difficult to retain a pattern of thought as the cry from a hungry family of ‘what’s for tea?” echoes through the house? You would think that two teenagers could manage to work out what a frypan looks like. Not to mention a whole pantry of food that is just waiting to be turned into a creative feast for the starving.
In recent years I have battled the dreaded onset of stress. Each one of us copes, or at least tries to cope, with stress in different ways. The people closest too you see it before you do and are often the first to feel it too. My husband and children have learnt when to give Mummy dearest some much needed space. Some months are better than others and the ‘other’ months are the ones where as I walk in the door, the family dons flack jackets and takes cover. So why don’t we females just stop being stressed and go back to being loving, coping wives and mothers?
Well, we do try but sometimes it all gets too much. For me, when I’m not lining my family up for target practice, I sit in my bedroom and let the tears pour down my face like a raging rapid. This way I get to let it out, my family doesn’t suffer and our household can get back to normal. The next challenge is menopause – hot flushes and more mood swings. For the safety of my family, perhaps it is best if we build a padded cell in the back yard.
