I feel I need to state this very clearly.
NorthHantsMum. Is. My. HOBBY!!!
I work on it in my “spare” time.
I don’t spend all day, every day working on NorthHantsMum. I have other things going on in my life. I work a full time job (40 hrs) in part time hours (30 hrs), I have a little part time job that I work 5 a week on, I have a daughter with a serious illness, a husband who is the equivalent to my second child (his words, not mine!!) AND NorthHantsMum. Plus there are my loyal friends, my extended family, a house to run, school life to manage, finances to monitor etc. etc. etc. that factor into this equation.
My time to work on NorthHantsMum is limited and I will be ETERNALLY grateful to anyone who takes this into consideration.
I make absolutely no money on the website for what I do. Neither do the couple of lovely ladies who regularly help me out with posts and pages. We are all volunteers.
VOLUNTEERS.
Please, please, please keep this in mind when you are sending me messages or posts or are emailing me. I have a limited amount of energy. I’m very sorry if your post doesn’t get scheduled exactly when you want it too. That is because I’m being pulled in MANY different directions at the same time.
I love what I do on NHM. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t do it. But I am finding that there has been a lot more pressure this year (2017). People are demanding a lot more from me than they used too.
For example, so far on NHM this year (2017) I have:
- Handled two domestic abuse cases
- Dealt with a case of a child that was in extreme pain and what to do
- Helped several vulnerable new Mum’s find the support systems that they desperately need
- Put lots of parents new to the area in touch with each other
- Helped with finding holiday childcare for several Mum’s
- Put several single Mum’s in touch with each other so they can create a support system
- Helped publicise the Christmas Food Box appeal and co-ordinated a Christmas present drive for a family who were in the local refuge over Christmas
- Helped many Mum’s and Dad’s whose children are starting school in September this year AND next year.
And lots and lots more that I can’t even remember now.
This doesn’t include posting on the website every day about events, classes, important news for local parents, attending events that I’m invited too, co-ordinating the AWESOME volunteers who so fantastically help me out and save my sanity, organise the schedule and administration for NHM and a truck load of other stuff for the blog.
I LOVE that NHM can help people in the way that it does now. I definitely don’t resent any of it at all. I am privileged and very honoured that I, and the NHM Community, can help people in the way that we do.
I know that it’s my own fault for creating the “monster” that is NHM. However, I never, ever, ever expected it to be what it has become.
I barely get any time to write personal posts anymore. I know some of you think this is a good thing, but the whole point of having a blog is to be able to actually…blog! lol.
I LOVE what NorthHantsMum has become. I really do, but I need a break. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY need a break.
I am exhausted.
Exhausted from three years of battling the medical profession. Exhausted from two years of battling The Prison. Exhausted from the changes that are being enforced upon me at work which means I am being demoted in my job. Exhausted.com.
So, I am taking summer 2017 off, like I normally do. Except this year I am REALLY taking the summer off. (Except I didn’t…“Keeping a Sitting with Jane Bench” – faceplant!)
For the sake of my sanity and my family and my daughter, I am planning on taking six weeks off NHM, from Mon 24th July 2017 until Mon 4th September 2017. That may even be 7 weeks. I don’t care how long it is, all I know is, I NEED A BREAK!!!!
Miss NHM is getting older now and strangely she needs me more now than she ever did. I don’t know if it’s because of her illness but she is far more demanding than she was when she was little! lol.
So if you send me an email or a message and I don’t reply in two or three weeks, it’s not because I’m ignoring you. It’s because I’m out enjoying my life and my time with my family. Thank you for understanding.
As always, thank you for your fantastic and very much needed support of NorthHantsMum. And yes, this post makes me sound like a total martyr and normally I’m not, but maybe I’m feeling a bit like that at the moment or maybe I just need a rest?
Roll on the Summer Holidays!!!! WHOOP!!!!!
Don’t miss out on future posts like this – you can receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address to the box on the top right of this page and hitting subscribe. You can also follow NorthHantsMum onTwitter,Google+,Facebook Page, Facebook Profile, LinkedIn and Feedly. I hope to see you there!