Welcome to Meet the Working Mum Interview. Today we meet Raimy Greenland. Raimy is a Digital Marketing Assistant and runs a couple of blogs, including Readaraptor.
If you have missed any of the previous interviews, or if you are new to this series, check out all the other Meet the Working Mum’s.
An intro and a little bit about you, your family and where you live.
I’m Raimy, I live in North West England with my partner, T, and my little girl, Spike. I work full time and go through multiple feelings towards this every day…. but I’ll go into them more in my answers. I love reading and run a book blog as well as my parenting blog but unfortunately that has kinda dipped more into picture books than anything else lately. I’m also a massive music fan and like to chill out playing games and watching cool TV shows with the fella when I’m not blogging or reading!
What do you do for a job? Is it what you have always wanted to do?
I’m a Digital Marketing Assistant for a holiday home company. Its not at all what I wanted to do but I love it. I always expected to go into teaching but paths took me up the route into journalism and then into digital marketing!
What was your motivation to return to work?
Money, unfortunately. I’m not going to lie. I couldn’t afford not to work but I also wanted to at least do something other than be Spike’s mummy. I like the me-time it gives me. I went back to work part time after my maternity leave and realised that wasn’t working so found a full time position as quickly as I could.
How many hours do you work a week?
37.5. Working 9-5, what a way to make a living…. sorry, couldn’t resist!
Do you have to travel far from where you live to where you work?
Yup! I work 30 miles from home, it takes 40-45 mins to get from nursery to my work but I have to go via my partners work which adds at least 15 mins on, and he starts work half an hour before I do.
If you use public transport what do you do to pass the time on your commute?
I don’t I drive. I get travel sick as a passenger too so T never drives.
What do you do for childcare? Does this work for you?
Spike is in Nursery 5 days a week. Thankfully it does. She LOVES her nursery and the play workers there and usually doesn’t even want to leave, despite the fact she’s the first to be dropped off and the last to be picked up most days! I’m hoping it means that the move from nursery to school will go better because of this…
What does your morning routine look like? What do you do to get you all out of the house on time?
If you’d have asked me this two weeks ago I would have said coffee-filled and hectic. Thankfully Spike has started sleeping a little better and this week our routine has slipped more into place. She wakes at half 6, we go downstairs and she gets her bottle while I make my lunch and T showers. She then gets her breakfast while I eat mine and leave her with T while he makes his lunch and I shower. I usually put her clothes out as I go up for a shower and T brings her up once he’s sorted downstairs to get her dressed.
What do you like about being a working mum?
It gives me something completely separate from Spike. It makes me have more of a ‘me’ and it will hopefully allow me to show her what working hard can get you in the future.
What don’t you like about being a working mum?
The guilt, the anxiety, the fact I can’t just drop everything and have a pj day with my girl.
What would you change? Hours you work, commute you have to make etc.
The commute, in a heartbeat. We’ve looked at moving to the city we live in but it’s so expensive we just can’t afford it – even if it means a £200 drop in petrol costs!
What three tips would you pass onto a mum about to start back at work?
Choose a nursery that feels right, not the one you think looks the nicest or has the best of the best when it comes to facilities and technology – I saw loads and the one she’s in is the cheapest and most basic because the staff were amazing right from the minute we walked in the door.
Don’t be afraid to admit to how difficult it is. I almost cried in my first one to one with my new boss because I missed my girl days with Spike. I think it might have shocked her a bit but I instantly felt better because I knew I needed to say what I was feeling out loud in order to make sense of it all and get on with my work progression.
If something doesn’t feel right, make changes. I started part time after having Spike and ended up working two jobs to keep us afloat. I wasnt happy in one and the other meant a lot of missed family time on a weekend. It was difficult upheaving myself for the second time in 6 months but it was what was needed to make everything a bit more streamlined.
For fun show us a picture of your work handbag – what make is it and what’s the most unworkable thing in it I.e. Kids hair accessories, toy cars etc.
I’m quite careful with my bag and I kept my stuff separate from Spike’s most the time! The most unworkable thing at the moment has to be a care bear phone charm that Spike got out of one of those silly machines in a pub a few weeks ago. But I did once go to work with a dummy in there!
Thank you so much for taking part in the Meet the Mum interview series Raimy. I totally agree with you about finding the right childcare that feels right and not only looks nice. It really doesn’t help knowing your little ones are having fun.
If you would like to visit Raimy’s blog you can find it here. Raimy can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
If you would like to be featured in my Meet the Working Mum series send an email to:- organisedjo@outlook.com
Jo
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