There are days that go well; washing gets cleaned, carpets get swept and children get fed. And there are days that don’t always go so well- washings gets cleaned but sits in baskets waiting to be put away; carpets get swept but not behind the sofa and hardly ever well enough; children get fed but dinner is late and the washing up has to be done when they’re in bed. I feel like I’m only doing half a job at the moment.

Yes, I knew that having three children was going to be hard work but nobody ever told me it would be this exhausting at times. I never thought about getting one child to sleep and having the other wake up again. I never considered I would be taking one child to gymnastics and rushing off to take another to football. And how come I’m suddenly booking myself in for a brief duck under the shower when I used to enjoy leisurely soaks in the bath? With a book, for goodness sake!

And despite all the rushing, apologising for being late, cursing myself for having still not managed to put away the washing/hoover out the car/ post the parcel/ sort the crockery cupboards/ pair up all the odd socks/ write a best selling novel/ clean the oven/ weed the garden/ clean the garage door/ sort out clothes the children have out-grown/ stuff the nappies/ make the dinner, I am still only doing half a job!

I seem to spend my days starting a task and being called away to do another one. So the first task is either abandoned or hastily finished and the second task is resented so not done properly either. Everything I do seems to be a little second rate, as we sit and eat our over-cooked chicken (I had to feed the baby while it- the chicken- languished in the oven) and as we sit down to watch the fifth installment of a thirty minute television programme we have to keep pausing (thank goodness for Sky plus!) because something else needs doing.

Everything I do seems to be a little fraught and a little rushed. I don’t seem to be able to think about any one thing properly anymore. It’s like my brain is only able to function in ten minute bursts, after which it needs to move on to the next thing.

I know it’s not just me.

** This post is not in ANY way sponsored by Sky plus. It is just a nifty invention which allows us to get to the end of a programme- eventually.