Mother’s Day is on different days across the globe but Happy Mother’s Day to all women working in mining who celebrated this Sunday 10th of May!!
Apt post for a day like today from Sharon Warburton at Steel Heels
How do I explain …. to my 5 year old daughter?
7 May 2015
“Dear Miss Chloe
Now there are only 5 sleeps now until Mother’s Day. And it’s on a Sunday – a ‘no work school’ day. A Mummy and Chloe day. Yay!
I am really looking forward to you cooking me some yummy scrambled eggs. Can I ask for a special favour? Just this once for Mother’s Day? I would love it if you could try and stay in your ‘big girl bed’ until at least the sun comes up? Why? ……because I think a Sunday morning sleep in at the moment would be better than winning lotto! “What is lotto Mum?”…….
Why…? What…? How…? So many questions….. Do you think we could count how many questions you ask each day? A hundred thousand? Noooooo? ….. Not that many but it is certainly a lot. Questions are a good way to learn aren’t they? You should never stop asking questions. Mummy never stops asking questions.
Remember when you asked Mummy why she has to go to work every day? And I said I go to work because I really really enjoy working. It is fun. I love it when you come into my office and help me with my work. You are very good at ripping up the papers that Mummy has finished with.
Did you know that Mummy often gives advice to help other people in their work? She helps people understand that many ‘big girls’ today don’t get paid the same money as ‘big boys’ doing the same job. That’s not very fair is it? Mummy is trying to encourage fixing this now so when you and your friends are ‘big girls’ working, you will get paid the same money as everyone who is doing the same job as you. Mummy also tries to make workplaces better and more fun for ‘big girls’. There are lots of workplaces which have lots more ‘boys’ than ‘girls’? Mummy enjoys working with boys but she also knows that workplaces are better when they have a balance of boys and girls.
Remember when you told Mummy you wanted to be a vet when you were a ‘big girl’? And then when you said you wanted to be a builder like Mummy? It really doesn’t matter to me what you choose, but I work hard to make sure you can go to a great school and do whatever you want to do when you grow up. I hope that when you see me working hard, that you see that if you try hard you can be successful at anything. Because girls can do anything.
Do you remember when Mummy won the Award? One of the reasons I won is because I am very good at juggling my different types of work – like a clown in the circus juggling balls! Mummy works hard at explaining to people that there are many different ways we can all get our work done on time. This is called flexibility. Can you say ‘flexibility’? You know when we do Yoga together… yoga is about being flexible or bendy with our bodies. Work flexibility is about being bendy with your time. You know how Mummy can ‘work at work’ and ‘work at home’ too? With the support of my bosses Mummy works flexibly so we can get ready together in the morning, do our hair together and have our Weetabix together. Also so Mummy can be ‘parent helper’, come to Assembly and do surprise school pick-ups now and again. Mummy has to work some nights after we’ve read your books together and you are sleeping, but this way of flexible working makes all of us happy.
Anyway, I am really really excited about coming to school for the Mother’s Day afternoon tea. I can’t wait to see what you have been making for me at school. Will you and the girls be pampering all the Mummies like you did last year? I hope so. I can’t believe it’s our 6th Mother’s Day. You are growing up too fast! We need to stop time. But when you do grow up, I can’t wait to see what your working life holds for you and I know I will be just as proud of you as I am today.
Love your Mummy
xxxx”
See it online