A random Monday...

It's 0730hrs on Monday morning and I'm woken up by the sound I hate the most, the ringing of the alarm ⏰. Weekends ALWAYS seem to fly by so fast. Fridays give good weekend vibes but before you know it, it's already Sunday evening signalling the start of yet another working week. Wifey has already left for work and I have to prepare the kids for school. I'm naturally not a morning person so getting out of bed ranks high up there as one of the toughest tasks I have to overcome every single day 😔. Hence, I always stay in bed until I really have to wake up. While still pondering on what my day will look like, I jump out of bed to start preparing the kids for school. I have only forty minutes to bath, dress and serve them breakfast. Therefore, every single minute is precious but unfortunately, time doesn't exist in their realm ⌛. I always tell them that if left to themselves, they would only be ready for school at 1000hrs judging by the pace at which they do things. As I'm tying Liah's hair, I take a glance at my phone and it's now 0831hrs meaning we have to be leaving the house now. My hair dressing skills are non existent so I know I have not done a good job but there is nothing much I can do. I get consolation from assuring myself that I have done the best I can .

Going to school, Liah prefers walking while Tony would rather ride his scooter🛴. I know she would have loved to 🚴‍♀️ (if only I can make the time to fix her bike 🤦🏾‍♂️). She likes holding my hand and today is no exception. As usual, she wants us to play a game. Ever since we flew back from Zimbabwe this past August, she has been obsessed with ✈ and says she would like to be a pilot. She has been researching a lot about aeroplanes on Youtube and tells me certain things that I had no idea about. "You can be anything that you want to be, as long as the dream is supported by good grades at school" has always been how I cheer her on, and I know she is smart enough 🚀🚀. I have committed to support my kids in the pursuit of their dreams to the best of my abilities. What would bring me joy is to see them having opportunities that I never had, and more.

Today, I can't stand another game on ✈✈ which would typically involve naming airlines which start with the different letters of the alphabet. Rather, I propose that we do mental maths instead, and maths it is. Tony becomes grumpy and wants to be pushed which I sense is a way of seeking attention as he feels left out. On some days I would be tough and say no, but today I decide to push him for a distance. As we pass other older kids going to school without being accompanied by their parents, I imagine the time when we will be comfortable with these two doing the same. The walk to school is at most fifteen minutes and when we get there, I kiss both of them goodbye and wait for Tony as he files to get into class. He waves at me and I wave back as he disappears into the classrom.

I rush back so that I can be home just after 0900hrs to start my working day🏃🏾‍♂️🏃🏾‍♂️🏃🏾‍♂️. I have a team catch up call at 0930hrs that I need to prepare for. On this day, things are not as hectic otherwise I would have woken up early to work a bit before preparing the kids for school.  I have a file due for partner review tomorrow that I need to finish working on. I also need to review a set of financial statements which I promised the client that I would send the review comments today. It's not uncommon that other things can crop up thus turning your to do list upside down but I hope it won't be the case today.

During the catch up call, matters arise that need follow up and actioning and my to do list go up in smoke. As I work through the tasks, someone pings me on MS Teams "Hi Lloyd - hope you had a nice weekend, do you have a moment for a quick call." The "quick call" ends up lasting an hour. The next time I look at my phone, it's now lunch time but I have to work through lunch as I will need to step out for a school run later on. The way time fly by so fast these days compared to yester years, I sometimes wonder if someone somewhere didn't tamper around with time as we used to know it, which I know is a ridiculous thought 🙄.

At 1420hrs I have to go and collect the "little rascals". It's drizzling but I have no choice but to brave the showers, because in Ireland - life goes on inspite of the 🌧🌧. Luckily today it's not too bad and the drizzling fizzles out a few minutes later. I get to the school and find Tony already waiting. I wave at him and he comes running. Liah also comes out and off we go. I ask them how school was and both say it was fine which is good. Liah is happy that she came out tops in a spelling game they played in class. One thing I have noticed about her is that she is quite competitive and draws satisfaction from being a cut above the rest. They want us to pass through a sweets shop but I tell them "not today" because I don't want it to be a habit. I do however buy them sweets on random days or when I want to reward good behaviour.

By 1450hrs, I'm back home and getting ready for a call at 1500hrs. We have been teaching the kids to make their own cereal for breakfast and sandwiches or noodles for lunch so today I ask them to prepare noodles. It's not as smooth but I'm happy with the progress. After eating their lunch, Liah starts doing here homework while Tony is busy with Minecraft. Unlike when she was in first or second class when she needed considerable guidance, now she can do her homework by herself which is good. The only problem is that she has no regard for time. Homework used to be done from afternoon to dinner time, with episodes of playing and watching TV in between. However, ever since her teacher communicated that it should be done in forty five minutes, she has been timing herself and never struggled to finish within the stipulated time with some minutes to spare, evidencing the power of discipline.

The time is now 1815hrs and I start preparing dinner so that the kids can eat by 2000hrs and go to bed. For the next one and a half hours, I'm make countless trips between the laptop and the stove. When you see multitasking as a skill on my CV, just know that I have earned my stripes 😓. It's now dinner time and the TV has to be switched off otherwise eating will take an hour. As they prepare to go to bed, I start cleaning up after which we have a bedtime story and say our prayers before kissing them good night, but there is a problem. It's always a struggle to get them to sleep before their mother is back from work and today she is a little late. At the noise of their mum opening the door, they jump out of bed which means I have to start the process of taking them to bed all over again. When they finally fall asleep, I go to the kitchen where wifey is preparing the kids' lunch boxes for tomorrow. She starts telling me how her day was which I figured out is like some form of therapy to her.

It's now 2134hrs but I need to put in one extra hour of work to salvage my to do list. Tomorrow wifey is not going to work so she will be doing the school run. I email the financial statements review comments to the client and close my laptop for the night. Tomorrow is another day, I will have to wake up early to complete the file review in time for the partner review later in the day. I cuddle with wifey and slowly drift off to dreamland 😍😴.

The advent of Covid-19 redefined how people work which brought more flexibility in balancing work and family responsibilities. Coming from Africa where there were good support systems  to Europe where you are on your own was not an easy transition. We have tried to find a way of making it work. The location of where we stay has made it super convenient. Some days are tough but thankfully - so far, such days are far apart.