It's weird how your life changes when you become a mother who opts to stay at home and give up her day job. The well meaning questions you get asked range from 'So what do you do all day?' to... well... to no questions at all from people you used to know in your old life but who've moved on.
When I've been asked what I do all day these past so many months I've been able to say that I've been writing my second book. But that's a cop out really. Staying at home to look after your child or children is a full time job. I could only write because my own mum took up baby-sitting duties. "Behind every successful woman is another woman looking after her children!" That was a line from the 300 page bi-lingual manuscript titled 'Cast as Mother' which had us all in stitches of laughter last evening but which struck such a chord with many - certainly with me. And that too was just one line from many that rang so true.
The play, which will be on the boards in September, was preceded last night by a series of readings and skits that showed how this manuscript came to be. Thirteen women who either gave up or still struggle with their careers on the stage as they strive to be good mothers wrote about their experiences in a set of fourteen exercises over a period of a year and a half. The result - a rich reservoir of stories that are poignant and strikingly honest.
The essence for me was how in this so called enlightened age becoming a stay-at-home mother can be such a life-changing experience - a culture shock even. For instance in your old life you may have been a highly qualified woman holding down a high-pressure job that earned you a certain degree of respect and power in your social circles. But become a stay-at-home mum and suddenly the people you interact with - from nursery school principals to pediatricians to some old friends - make you feel like you've had part of your brain removed and need to take in things nice and slow or be told things on a need-to-know basis only.
Last night's readings from 'Cast as Mother' were a delicious and unapologetic romp into the world of motherhood - with the audience laughing their way through some of the most traumatic, pressing and embarrassing issues that mums face. That it was not self-indulgent as it could so easily could have been was a tribute to this brilliant team of writers and the actors who brought their stories to life.
Roll on September! I can't wait to see the complete production!
When I've been asked what I do all day these past so many months I've been able to say that I've been writing my second book. But that's a cop out really. Staying at home to look after your child or children is a full time job. I could only write because my own mum took up baby-sitting duties. "Behind every successful woman is another woman looking after her children!" That was a line from the 300 page bi-lingual manuscript titled 'Cast as Mother' which had us all in stitches of laughter last evening but which struck such a chord with many - certainly with me. And that too was just one line from many that rang so true.
The play, which will be on the boards in September, was preceded last night by a series of readings and skits that showed how this manuscript came to be. Thirteen women who either gave up or still struggle with their careers on the stage as they strive to be good mothers wrote about their experiences in a set of fourteen exercises over a period of a year and a half. The result - a rich reservoir of stories that are poignant and strikingly honest.
The essence for me was how in this so called enlightened age becoming a stay-at-home mother can be such a life-changing experience - a culture shock even. For instance in your old life you may have been a highly qualified woman holding down a high-pressure job that earned you a certain degree of respect and power in your social circles. But become a stay-at-home mum and suddenly the people you interact with - from nursery school principals to pediatricians to some old friends - make you feel like you've had part of your brain removed and need to take in things nice and slow or be told things on a need-to-know basis only.
Last night's readings from 'Cast as Mother' were a delicious and unapologetic romp into the world of motherhood - with the audience laughing their way through some of the most traumatic, pressing and embarrassing issues that mums face. That it was not self-indulgent as it could so easily could have been was a tribute to this brilliant team of writers and the actors who brought their stories to life.
Roll on September! I can't wait to see the complete production!
