"Before Muddy Puddles become my ‘fourth child’ I held the naive assumption that running your own business would provide more availability and flexibility with my other three living and breathing children."
It is summer holiday time and I am torn. Part of me feels the same excitement and joy I felt as a child looking out at the long summer days with no school that are stretching ahead.
A feeling I catch from my children as they come home for the end of term with bags of art (that I sneak into the recycling bin) and some tired over washed school jumpers. And part of me is filled with some level of alarm about how to juggle children, work and so many weeks without school in the mix!
Before Muddy Puddles become my ‘fourth child’ I held the naive assumption that running your own business would provide more availability and flexibility with my other three living and breathing children. It turns out that running your own business becomes a thing that pulses through your veins. You live and breathe it every second. Work becomes part of life early morning to late night, through weekends and holidays as well as weekdays. It does deliver an excitement and autonomy that can be thrilling when it all works well. But when things go wrong the level of frustration and personal responsibility feel huge. It really is a roller coaster ride. I am so lucky to now work with a brilliant team who are fantastically committed and do an amazing job which makes work infinitely more pleasurable and satisfying. However we are still always striving to be bigger and better which means there is always more to do than there is time. This brings me back to the summer holiday juggle. Another assumption I had made is that Muddy Puddles would allow for glorious summers away with my children as the lions share of our business is in the winter months. How could I have missed the fact that back to school would be crucial? The perfect winter coat for the start of the autumn term is just what Muddy Puddles wants to offer the super mums (parents) who shop with us. That means when August comes around we need to be cooking with gas, with our full autumn winter range brimming on the shelves ready to be popped in parcels and winged across the country to whole new set of bright young things. Which means lots of work in the summer holidays! This leads to the ultimate juggle of kids clubs and amazing parents and partners and friends to keep the holidays full and fun. Nearly four years in to my Muddy Puddles journey we have found a way to make it all work but I just want to raise a cheer for all the other jugglers out there and the amazing support networks around them. I hope your summers will feel glorious too!