I've been a mum since I was nineteen which has meant that I haven't spent much of my life being anything other than a mum...no high flying job, no travelling the world, no fortune or fame. I missed the university boat because I got pregnant. I only had a few holidays pre-kids, and none of them involved anything adventurous or unusual. I've not spent more than a few nights away from my children since having my first born in 1988. Being a mother and doing things with kids has pretty much defined me for the last 24 years. I've done 19 years of school runs and still have a further 15 years worth stretching out ahead of me. Everything I've done has been with my mummy hat firmly planted on my head. Don't get me wrong, I am very fond of my mummy hat and wear it with pride, but I haven't really got an identity beyond 'mummy'.
But Kate Takes 5 wants to know what else we are or were in her "More Than Just a Mum" meme. And if Kate asks, I will tell her!
These days my body is no longer what it once was. I don't have the time or inclination to bother with hairstyles, make-up or fashion. But this wasn't always the case. I wasn't always this slightly overweight, middle aged, scruffy woman who uses Batiste on her hair because there is precious little time for a morning shower. When I see those immaculately turned out women judging me for my unkempt appearance as I wear my ill fitting jeans adorned with sticky handprints, food spills and snot smears as I chase Freddy down the aisle of our local supermarket, I want to shout...."I wasn't always this way, I used to be young and glamorous and skinny and taut and perky and clean and made-up with shiny hair! I used to shave my legs and do my nails and co-ordinate my outfits and know how to work it. I used to be HOT godammit!!"
So, there you are. That is what I was...this is what I had that had nothing to do with being a mum. Ironically, it may have been this that contributed to me becoming pregnant back in the 80's which started my journey into motherhood in the first place...it made me quite a hit with the boys!
