Guilt.

Mums are great at guilt. In fact women are great at guilt. Here are some things I am currently feel guilty about...

1. When Youngest says, "I know what we can do together this weekend! You can help me make a new stop frame animation and we can make the characters out of plasicine!" And my heart sinks because although I love the adorable little fella to distraction, I don't really want to spend the weekend making plasticine characters. (In the end I gave it a good half hour and then slunk off.)

2. Leaving the children to sit on their computers when they come home from school and not nagging them to get off them because I am having a lovely bit of peace and quiet downstairs in the kitchen reading the paper and drinking a cup of tea. Pretty similar to number 1 actually.

3. Not putting the clean washing away or pairing socks. It all sits in little piles waiting to go to the bedrooms. It's a permanent throbbing pile of guilt. 

4. Having a cleaner. In fact two cleaners. They are a Brazilian couple. This also makes me feel guilty about…

5. Being British and middle class and very fortunate to live in a lovely house and have a lovely family and friends and lovely holidays and all that blah, blah, blah.

6. Not doing maths homework with Youngest and leaving it for Husband to do with him when he gets in after a hard day at the office. Also similar to number 1 and 2.

7. Not opening post and filling in forms. I avoid it like the plague. There are piles of unopened bank statements and energy bills sitting on my desk, and some in the kitchen.

8. Spending money on myself. Especially at the hairdresser.

9. Not getting round to reading my book group book because I'm reading my own book, or the papers, or staring out of the window at birds/squirrels. 

10. Not ringing people or inviting them for dinner when we owe them. Mostly friends I haven't seen for ages and have left to drift away out of apathy, and if you happen to fall into this category and are reading this then I apologise profusely. I love you.

On the plus side I don't feel guilty about going out to work and leaving the children when they were little because I was lucky and didn't have to do that. And I don't feel guilty about food because I pretty much eat what I want (in moderation, obviously) and then try and exercise it off. And I don't feel guilty about my parents because I ring them all the time and know exactly what they are up to. And I do voluntary work in a school and went in twice this week. And I'm doing some paid work at the moment writing and directing some education videos so will be contributing to the family coffers...

Just don't tell husband that I snuck off to the cinema in the daytime yesterday with two mates to see Gravity (what a load of tosh) and that I'm meeting some more for lunch today. Quite soon. That makes me feel really, really guilty… 

So I'm just off to pair some socks.

Love E x

Twitter @DOESNOTDOIT

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Dont-Know-How-She-Doesnt-Do-It/547812378582001