I have been in my current job role for nine months now, the length of a pregnancy, and yet I am still getting to grips with the guilt I feel for juggling a full time career alongside being a mum of three young children. As well as working a nine to five most of the week, my role also requires me to travel at least once a week most weeks, which can be challenging. I am hugely grateful to be in a position to be able to do this, largely thanks to a supportive husband and mother, who are able to pick up the slack at home when I travel further afield and stay away from home for a night, but how do I minimise my mum guilt when I have to travel for work?
Decompress with Cuddles
The first thing I do when I get back from travelling is to give the kids cuddles. It helps me to settle back into home-life, and it is great if I have had a tough car journey - their smiling faces and big hugs are what gets me home!
Pack a Book
I am in the middle of reading Harry Potter to my daughter so, when I go away, I make sure to pack the book so that I can still read a chapter to her before bed, over the phone. It is little things like this that helps me to feel close to them, even when I am a few hours away.
FaceTime is your Friend
I love FaceTiming the children when I am away for work, as it makes the distance seem smaller, and helps me to still feel a part of their evening routine. Saying goodnight and being able to see them, is such a great advance in technology for working mums - I love seeing their faces before I head to bed.
Schedule in Special Time
It is so important to have some quality time with the children when I am not working. I like to organise one on one time with each of them, but we also regularly have family film nights, where we can all snuggle up and relax together. We also make sure that we eat together as often as we can, and say the best part of each of our days, going round the table, which is so special.
Keep on Track
It can be so hard, even without travelling, to keep on top of everything when it comes to children. I try and keep track of every parents evening, open day, sports event and after school club in one place, so that I can easily hand this over to whoever is going to be taking the kids in my place. It means that the children don’t miss out on anything, which helps ease my mind when I can’t be there myself.
Remind Yourself Why
Finally, it is so easy to fall into the trap of feeling guilty for spending time away from your children but it is so important to remind yourself regularly why you are doing it. This may differ from person to person but, for me, it is a mixture of wanting to provide a stable life for my children by having a good wage and enjoying the role I have and wanting to push myself and be proud of what I achieve as part of my job role. When I travel and shoot content at hotels, I am really excited by what I produce, and I see the delight on the children’s faces when I show them too, which is just the cherry on the top of the cake.
So yes, remind yourself often that you are a mum, but you are also a kick ass woman who is doing her best at life. Don’t be so hard on yourself - ok?
