Claire blogs at clarinascontemplations.
These past 10 months have been a bit of an eye-opener for me; in other words, I’ve gone through a total transformation. This time last year, I was a Primary School Teacher. Oh, the joys of Year 6! I LOVED every minute of it. The thrill of seeing the penny drop, the satisfaction of helping some children sort out a playground tiff, the creativity of finding a new way to explain embedded clauses and long division and the water cycle. I’d go into school every day thinking, “This is the best job in the world” (OK… I probably had a few off days!) And it was hard work… the pressure of the ever-looming SATs, the hours and hours of deep-marking, the meticulous planning, the OFSTED inspection (when I was 35 weeks pregnant!), the need to have a smiley face and not be snappy (even when I was puking my guts up daily at 7am with morning sickness!) It was hard, but it was recognised, and I felt satisfaction. There was always someone saying, “well done, that was good,” or “why don’t you try this next time…” I was given constant feedback, which helped me grow in the role, and helped me know where I stood…
Motherhood? Now that’s a different ball game. I’m still a teacher… yes, my little girl (poor soul) is learning all about life from me. But I’m not just a teacher now; I’m a nurse, chef, cleaner, entertainer, hostess, musician (I find I’m constantly singing some rhyme or other!) and I know that as Ava grows, I’ll become taxi driver, counsellor, agony Aunt… the list goes on! It’s a pretty high calling – and who’s there giving me feedback? You don’t receive performance management for motherhood, you don’t get put on courses, or given nifty ideas of how to improve your practice… you make it up as you go along and steal every bit of wisdom you can from those who have gone before you… It’s scary stuff!
So I want to raise a toast to all mother’s out there – mother’s who feel tired and worn and, at times, are struggling with what can feel like an endless cycle of nappy-changing, nose-wiping and knee-rubbing. It IS worth it. And although we may not get the pat on the back, the pay rise or the promotion… when our children turn into healthy, happy, well-rounded young men and women, I know for a fact we won’t regret a moment of it…
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There are plenty of courses you can go on, some even free, we found a good one (that’s totally irrelevant to you at the moment) on raising and teaching boys recently. Provided no end of help 🙂