Mums are not the only ones worn out

THE struggle of juggling parenting and parenting guilt and work is so real, but mums and dads need to remember they are not the only tired ones in the office.

Letea Cavander with her daughter Tallulah Stuart at Coolum Beach. Picture: John McCutcheon

THE struggle of juggling parenting and parenting guilt and work is so real. But mums and dads need to remember they are not the only tired ones in the office.

I recently started some casual work. I was introduced to the mum juggle.

Our little family of three gets up and my partner and I play hot potato with our bub as we get ready.

Thankfully, my parents are close by and we can leave the baby with them during the day.

Mum guilt kicks in for a short time in the afternoon before I push it away.

Mum guilt kicks in more as I leave work and dash home to a tired child.

It's a soundtrack on repeat in many homes.

I take my hat off to the full-time working parents out there. Doing that every day must be tough.

I am also in awe of single parents. Imagine doing the above on your own. My right eye started to twitch at the thought of it.

But here is the thing to remember. I am guessing 99 per cent of us decided to become parents. We chose this cycle.

We may not have realised the mammoth size of the juggle, or for how long we will have to keep those balls in the air (they move out in their mid- to late-20s these days), but we chose it.

Every person in the office has a thing.

It may be that they look after their own parents, it may be that their child woke up every two hours the night before, it may be that they are struggling with a hidden addiction or mental illness they don't want to discuss.

For the curve balls that life throws at us, we need to cut the person in question some slack.

To the parents who are exhausted by the cycle, I do finally get it. But remember everyone has their own struggles.

We are all flat-strap. And parents have an obligation to listen to non-parents without telling them they cannot possibly be as tired as we are (and I have heard those statements in offices in the past - "just wait until you have kids” was the exact wording).

We have not cornered the market on tiredness and those without children have a right to complain of their own exhaustion.

Letea Cavander is a freelance journalist. Get in touch via Facebook at Letea Cavander Journalist or follow along on Instagram@ leteacavander

Originally published as Mums are not the only ones worn out