I have decided that I am going to set myself the task of posting something to this blog each week.  That will give me my focus to make the most of my time when my son is attending preschool.  He is attending two mornings a week at the moment for four hours each morning.  Bliss!

So, I was mussing what to tackle this week and I realised that I still had more I wanted to explore around identity.  (See my about page for what I wrote last week.)

This came up as a discussion at the MOPS meeting I attended last week.  More on MOPS later….to focus on the discussion; it was around how we describe ourselves and our views of how others perceive us.  About not labelling ourselves as being ‘JUST’ a mom.  In short, that moms are awesome, we shouldn’t undervalue this role and that we are supporting the next generation to succeed.

Twelve months ago I was a working mum.  I did the juggling of family and part time work alongside volunteering.  I was a manager, a school governor, I volunteered my time at my church and I contributed to my community.  So when the question came up: What do you do?  I had plenty of answers.

Filling in forms now and the question comes up: What is your occupation?  And I hesitate to know what to write.  I’m a housewife?  A stay at home mum? I’m on a career break / a sabbatical.  Whatever I put it doesn’t quite sit right on the inside.  Who am I??

So is all of this to do with the significant change I have put myself through?  Resigning, standing down, handing over, moving country, attempting to recreate a home from home.  Or is this to do with the values that we place on the different roles that we lead?  Now that I have reduced the hats that I wear down to the needs of my family there is a part of myself that is not in use – well for the time being anyway.  Were my external roles of more value?  And the answer for me is No – they weren’t.  My family came first, BUT I thrived on being busy, I loved feeling useful, I was motivated by helping others and I had a passion for supporting the development of others and enabling them to achieve.

So this identity thing is about taking time to adjust and working out what I do with the rest of me that isn’t being a wife, mother, daughter etc.  What I do with the bit of me that needs something else to sustain it and keeping a little bit of me for me.