Back to reality
Hello again, so much has happened in the last 9 months, it’s hard to know where to start. Following on from my last post I actually decided I needed to go back to work for financial reasons. It was a hard decision to make but everything seemed to slot into place and so I felt it was the right thing for me and my family. I was lucky enough to get a full time teaching position at my local secondary school pretty much as soon as I decided to look for a job. Additionally, my daughter was going to be two and we found the perfect childminder, right around the corner.
So it began… I started back two days a week for July, had the 6 weeks of summer holidays to prepare myself and of course enjoy my daughter as much as possible, and then back to full time work in September. Well, anyone who is a teacher can understand how all consuming it is. The workload is immense, my day does not end when the bell goes. No! My days ran from dropping my daughter off at the childminder at 7:30am, straight to work and often into a meeting, then every morning I had half an hour with my tutor group, followed by 5 more periods. The end of the teaching day was 3:00pm, but was often followed by meetings or making phone calls to parents about their kids. Then rush to pick up my daughter at 4:30pm (I was often late). As soon as we were home it was time for dinner, play, bath and bed by 7:00pm. Sometimes I would give myself a short break and talk to my husband for a bit. But there was always work to do; so laptop out and continue planning from 8:00pm. I can’t function on lack of sleep so bed by 10:00pm latest was my rule.
Time passed in a bit of a fog and really quickly. Going back to classroom teaching after a 2 year break was another challenge. I was out of practice with behaviour management and some of the GCSE content had changed since I last taught. So it was a tough first term back. Plus I caught a sickness bug (very unlike me) and 3 or 4 viruses. And to top it all off, I was pregnant. Yep, I found out from a blood test at the doctors that I was pregnant just after I started my new job. I worried the whole six week holiday about how I was going to tell work, when I should tell them and of course how would they react!?
Baby on the way
This pregnancy was unplanned but definitely not unwanted. In the year leading up to it, I had experienced three miscarriages. The final one was the catalyst to me returning to work and us putting “having another baby” on hold. Well, there was clearly another path for us. Fortunately, all has been well this time around and we are expecting our second daughter any day now. Of course, being pregnant and returning to work full time was rather difficult and stressful but I had amazing support from my colleagues and from my family and so one way or another I managed.
Thus far it would seem I have been the hare in this analogy – running here, there and everywhere as fast as possible just to cross the finish line early. I definitely thought this bubba would be here already. I am 39 weeks but I have been experiencing contractions and early labour signs for almost two weeks now! My midwife has told me I am in the latent phase of labour. That’s right – labour! Apparently the latent phase can last a couple hours to maybe a few days for most women, but for the rare few it could last a week or two! I have reached the point now that I don’t want to tell people I am experiencing irregular contractions as I don’t think they believe me. I spoke to my cousin recently and she told me she completely understands as she was in the latent phase for about 10 days with her second son. So thank goodness, I’m not going mad! My body is clearly playing the long game, and is doing a lot of ground work – just like the tortoise, consistent and persistent, to finally win the race. If you would like to find out more about the latent phase Tommys is a good start. The important thing to remember is to stay calm and listen to your body.
Feeling crafty
Of course since my maternity leave started I have been trying to keep myself busy until baby arrives. Naturally, I can’t seem to just do nothing and watch TV or a film or read a book. I always come back to arts and crafts. The more I think about a project to start, the more I get confused. I want to do every different type of craft from painting, drawing, crocheting, sewing, stamping and pottery. The list is endless, but where should I start? What would I like to do most? I finally started on a baby blanket – just a classic granny square in white and mint green. I have done a bit of painting too but haven’t finished yet. I am quite glad to get back to my arts and crafts but I do hope I can pick something and finish it for once.
In conclusion, I think my mind is like the hare – going super fast and trying to get to the end to win the race; whereas my body is the tortoise – slow and steady. I need to remind myself that it’s ok to take it easy and it’s ok to do things I enjoy and not because I think they are the best choice for work. “It’s ok to just enjoy things, I don’t need a reason to enjoy them”. I am looking forward to seeing what this next chapter has install for me and for my family.
Hoopoe Crafts 