Removing Guilt and Adding Presence

Lemon and poppyseed cake - Office Mum

Once upon a time, when I worked a lot more hours than I do now, I felt like I never had quality time with my kids. Each night when they went to bed, I thought about how another day had slipped by without me noticing. I would try to think back to conversations and interactions ...

I have a question

women in the workplace

If you're reading this, and you have children, do you work fewer hours per day or days per week than your partner? And if so, do you do that because you want to, or because you feel you've been forced to? I'm reading an article in the Independent this morning, which refers to Glassdoor survey results ...

Everyday Sexism and Girling Up our Kids

Laura Bates Everyday Sexism - Office Mum

I've never personally experienced any sexism. Or at least not as far as I can remember, which may mean it has happened, and I've brushed it off as a normal, unremarkable, everyday thing. And that's exactly the point Laura Bates was making when she set up The Everyday Sexism Project in 2012, a platform for women to talk ...

Life in colour – who has Synesthesia?

Synesthesia - Office Mum

Until my mid twenties, I thought everybody saw numbers and days of the week in colour, and months of the year as concrete spots on an imaginary clock face. Then I had a very enlightening conversation with my sisters who told me they didn't in fact see Friday as yellow or any other colour, and didn't see ...

The Things You Do (…for love)

Pineky the pine cone - office mum

This is Pineky: His name is pronounced Pine-key. My four-year-old adopted him in March. He's originally from Killiney Hill. Against the odds, he has survived for two months without getting lost; minded carefully by his self-appointed 'owner-parent-friend'.  Until this week, when he disappeared for 24 hours. We knew he was in the car somewhere but couldn't find him. Then his ...

The Accidental Tourists: An Unscheduled Trip to Wells House

Wells House - Office Mum

Bank holiday Monday morning. I checked the weather on my phone. Cloudy, rainy, and real-feel 5 degrees. I checked the weather through my window. Bright, sunny, and the illusion of warmth. Window trumps phone. Day-trip weather. I suggested Glendalough, everyone agreed. We'd need to be quick though. The last time we tried to go there, traffic ...