Before Elf started school, I wanted to be a playground Yummy Mummy. I’d have lost that stone or three by then, so I’d be in my Yummy Mummy uniform of cool jeans, heels, “natural” makeup and immaculate hair. I was not going to be a Jeans’n’Fleece mum. Jeans’n’fleeces have their place, just not teemed with bedhead, no makeup, porridge on your chin and your other half’s coat slung over the top. Jeans’n’Fleece mums are not Yummy Mummies.
Fast forward to school. I only drop off on Fridays, but pick up three days when I’ve been to work - so I look alright. Working Mummy - not quite Yummy Mummy but good enough.
Friday is my day off with an extra hour in bed. I usually lounge around and have a bath after drop-off – a bit of me-time. So what do I end up looking like in the playground on a Friday morning? Hair scraped back into a ponytail showing greasy roots, no makeup, jeans and – yes – a fleece.
Why do I do it every week? Because me-time on my day off is, unbelievably, more important than looking like a Yummy Mummy in front of all the other mums who, to be quite honest, all scrub up well but are really just normal mums like me.