My son is sitting across the table from me. We’ve just looked up at the same time, and studied each other. I admired his soft, rounded face, the way his skin is so smooth, and the lovely dimples in his cheeks. I glanced over his little boy haircut, thinking how it makes him look a bit older, and then he broke into a big grin and his face lit up – literally. I smiled and told him to come to me, when he did I grabbed him in a big bear hug, so tight that he couldn’t have got away, and kissed him all over his face while he chuckled. I am head over heels in love with him, he’s a mini version of his daddy.
As we were having our hugs, my daughter came into the room so I swiftly switched the boy onto one of my legs, making room for her on the other. She doesn’t have the soft, rounded frame that my boy has. She’s more elegant – God knows where she gets that from! But in all other ways she is a mini me. She’s passionate and creative, she has a big heart and isn’t afraid to wear it on her sleeve. She’s loyal and trustworthy and always tries to do the right thing. She’s also got the cute dimples, but she’s very much her own woman, even at the tender age of eight. She knows what she wants and she’s a little negotiator – I know better than anyone how good she is at getting what she wants and I have to admire her for that. She doesn’t let anything stand in her way.
As I sat on the dining room floor with them both at 8am on a Tuesday morning, I felt absolutely blessed. I have the whole world in my lap. One arm wrapped round each child, giving them kisses and not wanting to be anywhere else than where I was at that moment. Being a modern mum can be really hard sometimes, most of us cannot afford the luxury of living off one salary like our parents did. This can make life seem like one huge rush at times, dashing from one place to the next, working, dropping kids off, picking them up, always on the move and never really stopping. Doing the daily juggle and never really having the time or space to enjoy our kids, to just enjoy ‘being’.
One of my favourite phrases is “I’m a human being, not a human doing”, and I believe that as women, keeping all the plates spinning, we also need to ensure that we nurture our ‘being’ side and not just the ‘doing’ side. If we are to be a true Jugglista, juggling ALL the balls, this includes the ‘stopping’, ‘resting’ and ‘enjoying’ balls too – as well as the one that is marked ‘kissing your kids’!
I don’t want you to leave a comment today – use the time to squeeze your children, call your parent or hug your pet, and come back in a fortnight for more Businessmum tales and tips! And to women everywhere – Happy International Women’s Day.
I write a fortnightly column for At Home – the Premier UK celebrity and lifestyle magazine, and this one appeared on their site a month ago. Do visit At Home and leave me a comment on the post there so they get to see your opinions too!
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About the Author
Nadine Hill is a busy working mum (“Is there any other kind?!”) who has a fascination with time management which borders on the obsessive! She loves to find more effective ways of doing the daily juggle whilst enjoying the journey and has lots of practise through raising her two children, managing her small business, being a best-selling author, running her home, public speaking and finding time to get to the gym! Nadine’s ambition is to help busy mums claw back a bit of ‘me time’ so she shares her tips with at home in these fortnightly columns and her own life stories on her blog- Juggle Mum.
She also micro blogs on Twitter where she is . You can learn more about Nadine at www.NadineHill.com
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2 Responses to At Home Column #12 – Head Over Heels
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I know you said don't leave a comment but I can't give my two a hug at the moment as one is at school and the eldest is at work 350 miles away1 I just thought I'd agree with you though – we all need to stop and smell the roses, or hug our kids, more often and step off this treadmill for a breather!
aww thanks Diney!
I'll have to remove that bit where I put 'leave comments at the magazine website' as I'd be disappointed if it came across as unfriendly. I'm glad it didn't deter you from leaving a comment with me!!
Thanks for your comment- I'm grateful that mine are still young and therefore with me all the time, it must be hard when they are grown like yours and not in the next room! It's scary to think how quickly the time will pass until mine are out living their lives!
Nadine x