Motherhood... the truth
‘It’s like living with a whale, a tiger and a goat!’
Trina MacDonald, 40, from North Ayrshire, is tasked with referee duties when her teens fall out...
Boredom, boyfriends and hormones – that’s the hat-trick I’m battling at home now. I have 13-year-old twins, Abbie and Katie, and my son, Nick, nine.
As if the girls’ hormones don’t make for enough chaos, I’m also going through the menopause, so you can imagine what fun home life is for my husband, Cam, 41.
Without doubt, this stage is the hardest yet. Abbie has mood swings, doesn’t want to do her chores or homework, wants to go out with her friends, is bolshy and hates school... she hates most things.
Katie is bored. She doesn’t have as many hobbies as Abbie – she’s into selfies and Snapchat, and she takes her moods out on me.
Meal times are mayhem. I liken them to a whale, a tiger and a goat living in one cage. Three very different personalities battling it out over dinner. My role is to referee their fallouts. I’m seriously considering buying a whistle.
Some days, it’s all larking about in the paddling pool and I think to myself, ‘There are my babies, they’re back!’
And then something happens and it’s teenage tantrums and slammed doors.
In a way, my twins need me more now than when they were toddlers. The world is a dangerous place, and they are stepping out into it, both in real life and online.
As a frazzled mum who also holds down a part-time job as a venue assistant for the council, I’ve grey hairs and saggy bits, and I still haven’t lost my baby weight.
I always thought I’d be a Mary Poppins kind of mum, but I’m more like Supernanny Jo Frost in the ‘ before’ episodes!
It goes without saying that we love our children with all our hearts, but has motherhood really been what you expected? These three women candidly (and bravely) tell the truth about their experiences...