It doesn't have to be this way...

Last week I was tagged in an Instagram post where an author/columnist was showing her house on a Friday afternoon and asking for help. She was clearly feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all, and I was upset by some of the responses saying that it was totally normal with kids. Before you think I was being judgemental, I’ll explain why… A few years ago, I was exhausted. So exhausted that I had to regularly rest on the hay bales part way through mucking stables out because I was so dizzy. One day when I was out doing some work in the field, I had to lie down and put myself in the recovery position as I thought I was about to pass out (a nurse saw me and stopped to check on me, bless her heart!). At the time, whenever I mentioned it to people, it was brushed off with a, “Of course you’re tired, have you seen your life!” and so I just sucked it up and continued on. It was only by chance that I spoke to a doctor – I had booked an appointment for my middle daughter about something and she didn’t need it and I just thought maybe I should be talking to a doctor about the fact that my periods were all over the place and I thought I might be menopausal. It turns out that I wasn’t just tired because I had a lot to do, but that I had pernicious anaemia and I was literally dying of exhaustion. A course of Vitamin B12 injections later, and I felt like a new woman. Still tired, but so much better. That is what it feels like to me when I hear people brush off someone else’s cry for help with an, “it’s normal!”. No, it’s not, and it doesn’t have to be like this. You don’t have to be firefighting the whole time, it’s possible to have small children, animals and a job/business and not feel like you’re drowning – I can throw you a lifebelt (I have actually trained as a lifeguard (as well as a Cytogeneticist, Primary school teacher and KonMari Consultant)!) if you’re willing to invest the time. And sure, just like I still get tired, and need top ups of my B12 every 8 weeks, getting your home decluttered and organised won’t magically make your life perfect, but it will make your life so much easier. If you are ready to make the change, you know where we are.