I work because...A) I need to... B) I want to make a go of the new business my OH has just started..., and C) the work ethic is passed onto my children. I must admit, I love it. I have never felt so content in a job. Don't get me wrong, it's not a high flying career, and the pay, well...to say I won't be buying a second home in the sun just yet is a bit of an understatement. More like NEVER. 3 years at university to end up in a job I trained to do when I was 16, but then again I've never been driven by money. I get great satisfaction from only having myself to answer to. I can walk to work as it's only just over a mile away. I can take my children to work (I say children, I mean child, the other 2 are already in employment), and it fits in with school hours.
However, as perfect as it sounds, it is not without it's downfalls. I have to work 6 days a week and have not really taken time off during the summer holidays which is why I am getting a bad back trying to lift this burden called guilt. Guilty at not doing all the other things I see mums and dads doing during the holidays. We try and compensate by going to our caravan at the weekends which provides quality time with one another but I always feel the time goes by too quickly and Monday comes around and it's either come to the office with me and be bored, or stop with a babysitter and not see your parents all day. I've always worked but my work never seem to impact so much on family life as this job is doing. That's why I have decided to teach my youngest to bake. She's 8 years old and has a very sharp inquisitive mind. I baked with the elder 2, eldest took to it like a duck to water whilst middle daughter struggles to distinguish flour from icing sugar and a sieve from a spoon, but hey ho, no 3 children are the same.
Child 3, who I shall refer to as Mini A from now on, was most eager to start baking her first batch of fairy cakes. I have always baked with them... I've let them lick the bowl and stir the mixture until their poor little arms ached, and then swiftly took over again to create the perfect text book fairy cakes. This time though, as much as it pained me, I took a back seat and let her do everything (apart from getting the icing sugar to the right consistency, she can do that next time). She loved it.
Mini A wanted to decorate her cakes for family and friends. I wanted to show her how, but she insisted on doing it herself. I must say, not bad for a for a first attempt. and on tiptoes too may I add.
All in all a very productive evening, in more ways than one. Baking provided delicious treats for tomorrow, increased maths and life skills, and most importantly it provided quality time together,
Did I mention my back was starting to ease up a little?...For a short while anyway!
