Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Hump Day can be hard slog

Wednesday is Hump Day. Hard slog up. Slide down toward Thursday and the weekend. Today my Hump has felt like being on the wrong side of a mountain and I’m still climbing.

School holidays are hard when you’re a Work At Home Mum (WAHM). In some ways, it’s great – you don’t need to organise that after-school, before-school, holiday-camp schedule that can be the bane of the working mother. But in many ways, that’s just an oversight. If I had those measures in place (like any sensible working mum), my Hump Days would be much less arduous.

There is a rule in freelancing that, even if you haven’t been busy for weeks in the run-up to school holidays, you will be deluged with work in the three days before they start. This work will take up exactly enough time to make the whole two weeks stressful, and will then end the day the kids go back to school. At which point, you’ll be scratching around, wondering where your next job is coming from.

I’m not complaining, mind. Another rule of freelancing is that you can never complain about being busy. As soon as you do that, another freelancer will be all over you, bemoaning their lack of work. These cycles never seem to meet up so that you can indulge in a lazy coffee together. Oh no. That would be too convenient.

So this is me, not complaining, just explaining why this post is short. I’m very busy mountaineering. Tomorrow, I hope to look like one of the lovely ladies in the picture. I bet Alla Hoo Hoo can ski like that.

[image: squidoo.com]

9 comments:

  1. I find it hard to clean my kitchen bench during school holidays, let alone do what you're doing!

    Two more days. Two. More. Days. :) xx

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  2. I hear you on this one. Thanks for saying what I can't right now x

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  3. Oh, I am so with you! As a freelance writer and mum on school hols too, you have just described my current situ! Hope tomorrow's a better day ...

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  4. Ahem, school holiday camp is not just for non-WAHMs, you know... The kids absolutely love a day or two there!

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  5. Look I'd love to say that the reason I'm looking forward to the end of school hols is that I have freelance work to do. But alas, I have no other work to get done (well, I DO, but not the patience or deadline to get it done yet)...just dying for school to open up so that I can get 5yo into a routine. 24/7 with my two boys in a cramped 2 bed apt without our own things has worn painfully thin. If you haven't guessed, this is why I'm on a Twitter-light schedule...am sick of hearing myself whinge and won't subject you all to it! ;)

    Have fun skiing down the mountain today!!

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  6. Oh yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!

    I always tell myself to treat my freelance work as a proper job, but never think to organise camps, etc in the holidays. At least this time I toughened up and actually asked someone if they'd have my daughter for a day {normally I offer to have their child and hope they'll reciprocate} and my daughter's having a few days with her grandparents.

    Nearly there...

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  7. "School holidays are hard when you’re a Work At Home Mum", amen to that I couldn't agree more! P.S love your blog!

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  8. You are so right. I have no measures in place and a week to go before they break up until September 6th. However, freelance work is as dry as the desert for me right now. I need to find some quick. And just the small matter of the novel....

    Hope your ski was a gentle glide and not off-piste. Can't ski for toffee.

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