Have A Family Day Out

I was asked to write an article about LIFE and the benefits of spending time with family. For me this is all about how I balance work and family life, I can certainly say that being a full-time working mum is tough and exhausting as I’m sure many of you agree. At times it’s difficult to get that balance right which can lead to feelings of guilt...guilty I can’t be there to take the children to school every day, guilty that I can’t make it to every class assembly performance, guilty that mother-in-law has had to deal with toilet incidents (ok, perhaps not so guilty for that one!!), guilty I can’t always go to work social events as I need to get the children to after school clubs...the list just goes on. On the plus side though it gives you a ‘Get out of jail free card’ for parent helper duties on school trips!

About this time last year I had a skiing accident which had a massive impact on my life. Being immobile for several months meant that I had to work from home and it forced me to stop flying around at 100mph trying to juggle everything. For the first time in many years I felt like I had time to stop and reflect on my life and I realised that I needed to re-prioritise things to make sure I spend quality time with family.

For me the key to getting that balance right is to be super organised. I make packed lunches the night before, do housework and ironing while the children are asleep, go to the gym while the children are at their clubs and do shopping on my lunch breaks. I put small issues into perspective to avoid wanting to give up, I accept that there will be good and bad days - that’s just life! Despite the bad days it’s important for me to always have a positive outlook, after all in the grand scheme of things there’s always someone in the World who is having a worse day than me.

Weekends are for my family, not for chores or housework. At the beginning of each year we create a wish list together of activities each of us would like to do during the year whether it’s a trip to the Space Centre, a trip to a theme park or a picnic at the beach, it always melts my heart that ‘Family Games day’ is always the first thing the children want on the list - a perfect time to share laughter and to create memories (although memories are starting to change from ‘pretending to lose’ to being whooped!).

I’ve learned through being a full time working mum that absence really does make our hearts grow fonder and makes us appreciate family time together at weekends! It’s far too easy to slip back into old habits working relentlessly to try to please everyone but it’s important to take time to stop and re-prioritise every now and then.

Zenna West, Planner, @one Alliance