I grew up with the phrase 'pride comes before a fall'. It would come back to me if I felt too pleased with myself and made me cautious to celebrate achievement. What if I came across as boastful? What if I was too proud? Would the fall be bigger if I was REALLY proud? This time five years ago, I was overwhelmed with this life of mine, and headed into burnout. I had a toxic workplace and felt unable to keep up with the demands at home, I was stressed and overloaded. This time one year ago I was unemployed, and the state had decided it had supported me long enough. I was unsure of where my future led, heading into trying to make coaching work at the same time as keeping Madame Papillon, a project I had been working on since 2020 and which became an official association in 2022, developing and moving forward. I was much more sure of who I was and what I wanted but I was not settled or sure of the path forward. Now, at the end of 2024, I am coming to the end of a tempo...
It took me four years to consider going back to an office job. Building up an association had been new, meaningful, and something I could do at my own pace, surrounded by friends and supporters. Once my fried brain had rebuilt itself, once my fragile nervous systems had regained some resilience, once my exercise and wellbeing routines had been established, and (let's face it) when my last savings had gone and the Belgian state was no longer willing to support me, that's when I went back. I was worried though. That final, decisive driving factor had been financial. Taking the development of the association at my own pace had meant slow but steady growth of the membership - their fees were enough to cover costs, but my work was voluntary. And it was work, not 'work'. I'd learned so much over those four years, about myself, about burnout, about Brussels beyond the bubble. I'd learned about my values and behaviour patterns, not least through my coaching training, a...
Dear Elsie, Before you were born I had this idea that I'd mutate into a full-blown mummy blogger; unable to contain myself, documenting every little change and development that my darling child went through. You are five months old, and that just hasn't happened. There are countless photos and a youtube channel, but very few blog posts have gone up with you as the star. One reason is that there just hasn't been time. It's incredible how days disappear in minutes, weeks merge into each other and before we know it, you've notched up another month. The other reason is that I don't feel up to the task. Everyone knows that blogging about your offspring is dull, unless it is done with considerable skill and wit. That is daunting. You are the most precious thing I have, and I don't want to do you a disservice by reducing your magic to tired cliches. Having said that I'm afraid that the months and years will pass and we'll forget the littl...
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