Featured Super Working Mum- Carol Cameleon

Well hello everyone and thank you to Aloted for approaching me to be the November Super Working Mum.  What an accolade! 

I’m Carol Cameleon ~ wife and mum.  My days are filled with to-do lists and gratitude.  Plenty of gratitude – for all sorts of things.  I’m an open-minded woman and my head is constantly full of blogs, stories and more to-do lists.

At the top of my to-do list is (with the help of hubby), looking out for our little girl.  She’s 4 and is full of life; making us laugh every single day.  I say ‘looking out for her’ instead of ‘looking after her’ because I’m not a SAHM (I wouldn’t be featured SWM if that were the case!).

I spent 8 months on maternity leave with her full-time, nurturing, guiding and loving her.  Now I do the ‘pre’-school-run, collect her and taker her on to the childminder before I go off to work.

I’m extremely fortunate in that I work every weekday afternoon in, essentially, an admin/customer service role which is 10 minutes’ walk from home.  I’m even more fortunate that pre-school and the childminders are all within walking distance of each other.

I’m well aware that not many mums find themselves in such an advantageous position.  With our free pre-school hours and extremely affordable childcare, I’m able to hold down a part-time job, bring a little bit of money in and retain a bit of sanity.  Always a bonus!

I use the mornings when our little girl is at pre-school for squeezing in writing projects, marketing them and a bit of housework too (booooring!).  As we all know, it’s one big balancing act, isn’t it?  Whether you see it as being on a trapeze or juggling balls, a sick child, a broken washing machine or a pile of ironing (to name but a few) can all tip the balance.  That’s without even touching on spending quality time asking your child about their day.

And so the guilt of being a working mum can set in.  The mundane, every day tasks get in the way of spending that quality tie with your child (and hubby) – damn that to-do list!

My book ‘Working 9 til 9 ~ Ditch the Guilt‘ aims to put these feelings into perspective.  I explore how vital it is for you and your child to loosen the umbilical cord early on.  I touch on post-natal-depression and how mixing with adults and maintaining some kind of me-time (without baby talk) is important for your well-being as a mum.

The financial element is also included with some helpful links and practical advice.  Guilt can eat away at you as a working mum.  My book can help you ditch that guilt.  I really enjoyed the process of writing ‘Ditch the Guilt’ because it re-affirmed my belief that being a working mum is better all round than being a SAHM in so many ways.  Controversial?  Maybe, but I stick by it.

Its my second book.  The first being ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’, which is my true story re-telling my journey through my pregnancy involving placenta praevia, pre-eclampsia and hellp syndrome.  Although extremely therapeutic, my main reason for writing this book was, and still is, to raise vital awareness of pre-eclampsia and hellp, which can be fatal to mum and baby.  Half of the process from sales go to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia (APEC)  I’m very pleased to have been able to make 2 donations to APEC since 2012.

Both books are available though my website at  Virtuallyallsorts where there are also links to Amazon and Smashwords.

So, the big question!  My biggest tip for working mums out there looking for balance and fulfilment. The ban of my life is also my life-saver.  Have a working ‘to-do’ list that you can tick off and add to.  Make time for quality family time then pencil in some relaxation time.  Whatever you can manage.  10 minutes a week is better than no time.

I find reiki and a nice hot bath with candles does wonders for regaining my balance (not at the same time though!)  Accept the tiredness, accept the challenges, accept the tantrums (from little ones, colleagues and partners…!), stay focused and be super!

From a light-hearted viewpoint ‘s-ouper’ is taking a bit of everything from daily life, putting it all in a blender and creating something ‘s-ouper’.  Getting the balance is a real art form and if you forget to put the lid on (or don’t put it on properly)… boy, are you in a mess!

In a more literal sense, ‘super’ is being able to accept that no matter how hard you strive to be the best working mum for your situation, we don’t have super powers.  Ultimately we are normal women.  The ‘super’ comes into its own when we are thrown a curveball and we somehow get through to the other side.  Not necessarily unscathed but we still get to the other side…

 

 

 

That’s me done. Thanks for having me as featured November SWM.  I’ve really enjoyed opening up to you.  Take care ladies

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Thank you Carol for sharing a bit of your life with us, totally enjoyed getting to know you a bit more. 🙂