I’m basically back to work. My maternity leave partly ended about three days after the boys were born and I had to deal with some things that came up. My first shift in the shop was the late night event on the 23rd when the boys were 3 weeks old and I still wasn’t back driving so had to be driven to work and picked up. I did a few shifts in the run up to Christmas and we took the decision to close for a few weeks in January.
And now I’m part of a tag team. Tom works shifts and I take care of the kids and when he’s off he takes care of the kids and I go to work. His shift pattern is crazy. He works seven days and then on the 8th day I go to work. We have one day of rest and then he starts his night shifts. By the end of the seven days I’m looking forward to going to work, to have some adult conversation and to going a day without getting spit, poo or sick on me is also a bonus.
I always have a to do list as long as my arm because I’ve been off all week and while I go in with lots of good intentions I usually spend the day doing what I love the most, chatting to my customers. It lifts my spirits and revives me and quite often I’ll get to talk to someone that really inspires me, like I did today.
This person (I don’t want to say much about them cause I have a what happens in Lúnasa stays in Lúnasa rule) came in first thing when it was quiet and I wasn’t quite ready for them. ‘No rush’ I was told ‘I came in yesterday and it was like a little Oasis and I just wanted to come back for some calm so I’m happy to wait’. Music to my ears. The customer sat down and opened up the paper and I carried on setting up at a leisurely pace. After a short while I served the coffee and we struck up a conversation that has left me feeling very disappointed that we probably won’t meet again. A creative, kindred spirit we tossed around ideas, swapped some secret hopes and ambitions for the future and shared some of our fears. Then suddenly we realised that more than an hour has passed and we have to step out of our bubble and go our separate ways. A shame, but it was an inspirational and heartwarming hour. It motivated me to action today some changes I’d been considering for a while, it gave me some great tips and it reminded me that I need to look after my own well-being while trying to keep all my plate spinning. If only every hour was as productive.