Parenting Australia

Rise and Shine

Once upon a time there was a teacher called Mrs O. Every morning Mrs O hit the snooze button twice before getting up to face the day. She jumped into the shower, washed her hair, exfoliated her skin and shaved her legs. She put on makeup and styled her hair before dressing in clean, ironed clothes. Having spent slightly longer than planned in the bathroom, she washed her toast down with coffee and headed out the door. She mentally prepared for the day as she drove to work, all the while listening to morning radio.

Catherine Oehlman

When she arrived at work the staffroom was full of familiar faces who greeted her and may have even complimented her on her outfit or choice of accessories. Mrs O collected her roll, made another cuppa and headed down to her classroom.

Then Mrs O became Mummy.

Now Mummy never sets an alarm clock. She doesn’t need to because she is woken up before sunrise by either a baby crying for a feed, or a toddler tugging at her arm because it’s “brekkist” time. As she rolls out of bed her feet find their way to comfortable slippers and she pulls on a fluffy dressing gown. Without opening her eyes fully, she changes the baby’s nappy, snuggles him up and trudges to the kitchen. Placemat, bowl, spoon, weetbix, milk, cup, done. With her toddler settled Mummy flicks the kettle on and sits down to give her son a bottle. As soon as that’s done he’s ready for real food, so then she has two weetbix kids on her hands. Daddy comes to lend a hand and is greeted by smiles and squeals of delight from both kids, but has to go too soon. Mummy washes her sultana bran down with a glass of Metamucil (to combat the side effects of iron tablets) and then begins clean up. Weetbix is removed from children, table, highchair, dressing gowns and floor. She changes the baby’s now dirty nappy, dresses him for the day and puts out clothes for her independent toddler to dress herself. Baby goes into the playpen while Mummy brushes her daughter’s teeth and ties her hair into pigtails. Catching a glimpse of her own reflection, Mummy sighs, whips her hair into a quick pony and pulls on jeans and a tee. She makes a mental note to shower tomorrow.

My oh my how my life has changed!! There are some days when the chaos of a morning with young kids gets really gets me down. I can only see how hard it is, and forget that being a working woman had its own set of challenges. It’s easy to look back with rose coloured glasses. I forget how much I detested sitting in peak hour traffic, ironing my clothes a day ahead, and stressing about whether I would arrive at work in time to get a carpark. In hindsight I probably would have loved staying in my PJs for another two hours!

As a full time SAHM what I do get is a whole lot of love from two little people who depend on me every morning - not just during school terms, not just on weekdays, but every day. They don’t care if my hair is unwashed or if there’s vegemite on my jeans. They don’t even notice. Our mornings might be messy, but we rise together and shine together. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Catherine Oehlman is a SAHM currently being raised by a terrific toddler and a curious crawler. Her background in primary education, love of the mothering journey and compulsion for writing collide on her SquiggleMum blog. Cath encourages other parents from all walks of life to maximise the time they spend with their children.

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