That post-holidays blues
Getting back from our 3-week trip to Singapore hit me hard this time. For days, it felt like I hadn’t arrived in our home yet, that part of me was still more than 10’000 km on the other side of the world. In a way, it always feels a bit like that, juggling between two places, but somehow up until now, the grounding felt much easier.
I don’t know if it’s the return to everyday life with luggages to unpack, groceries to shop, food to prepare, clothes to wash and (jetlagged) kids to look after that was just particularly hard this time round, or the fact that the baby had a few struggles in the first days we got back and needed to be carried a lot, or that in the midst of all this chaos, I started work again after my maternity leave. The adjustement has not been easy and it has felt like life has been very full on in the past two weeks. I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that at the moment, everything just moves a bit slower and takes a bit longer with a baby and a 3-year-old in our lives. This was the first big trip that we made post-covid, the first flight in more than 2 years, the first time on a plane for our baby as well as for our toddler in a way (we took him on several trips, including a flight to Singapore before the pandemic but he is too young to remember). All that mixed up with the emotions of leaving Singapore, not seeing the family and friends that are dear to us for another while, makes it even harder.
At the same time, in the midst of all the chaos, I was due to start work again. It was a bit of a tricky start: we had a few conflicts of schedule so I struggled to actually work the hours I was supposed to, I was given tasks that I was unfamiliar with and considering that I was only 1.5 days a week for another 6 months, it felt quite challenging to actually figure out what to do, many people still are on holidays and I did not have as much flexiblity as I used to because I am still partly breastfeeding my baby. All this was not very motivating to be honest, and at the same time, it made me realise something that I have already been reflecting on for a while, as a coach but also as a mum: whilst we can discuss how equal women are treated at the workplace, it feels a fact that there is nothing really put into place to accompany mothers (and fathers for that matter) on their journey back to work after their child was born. Any parent would agree that a major shift takes place once your baby is born: in your mindset, in your life, in your values, in your routines… Yet somehow, you are supposed to go back to work as if nothing happened.
I truely believe that working with a coach in that period of life would be beneficial for all parties: for parents as they gain clarity on what is important in their lives right now, how they can find that work-life balance with a demanding job and little children at home; and for the employer who gains an employee with a clear vision, more motivation and thus more productivity in the end. And how amazing would it be if our employers would offer us a coaching programme we could do while we readjust to work life after having a baby?
This is a topic that is close to my heart, as a working mum in a country where child-care does not come easy and is expensive at best. It’s something that I would like to develop as a life coach, as soon as I find the space for it (which means once my son is settled at day care in November). Stay tuned for more! And if you are heading back to work after time off with your kids, feel free to reach out to me for a chat and a free first coaching session.
