Juggling family and work is a struggle for single dads, too
I READ the article about ‘superwomen’ who have to juggle family life with work and all the stress this entails (Femail). I am sure the pressures are enormous and they have my complete admiration. But what about men who find themselves in the same situation? In 2000, when I became a single father of my daughters, aged ten and 12, I thought: ‘How on earth am I going to cope?’ I worked in local government in a senior management role and I didn’t know how I would be able to fit in domestic life. Every morning I would get the girls up and prepare breakfast. There was the usual hunt for school ties and shoes, plus lunchboxes to be prepared, before driving them to their separate schools and going on to work. At first, their friends’ mothers would pick them up from school. But when they were old enough, they became latchkey kids — I didn’t have much choice. I went food shopping in my lunch break and did all the cooking when I got home from work. The housework had to wait until the weekend. I would get up early on Saturdays to do the ironing: ten school shirts plus five of my own. The washing machine was always on the go. I had to smile when we had a work/life balance seminar at work. I didn’t comment when the lecturer went on about the importance of making sure you had some ‘me’ time. Some chance of that! Life got a little harder when I got a promotion. The salary increase was great, but the responsibility was considerable. I worried about coping with everything. I constantly asked myself: ‘Am I doing this right?’ I tried hard to give my daughters a happy life and not let the pressure of juggling everything affect them. They are now grown up and I often reflect back on my busy years and still marvel that I was able to cope.
DON TOWNSHEND, Chelmsford, Essex.