Motherwhelmed by Anniki Sommerville

Author:Anniki Sommerville [Sommerville, Anniki]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2019-08-21T17:00:00+00:00

I must have eventually fallen asleep back in my own bed, because I dreamt I was having more Botox, and then dermal fillers were being injected into my cheeks, and the fillers were like filling me up with air. They were making me light and happy, and young and dynamic, and I was floating into the sky, growing more and more youthful, until I faded away into a cloud … as a five-celled embryo.

When I woke up my cheek was stuck to the sheet, and I had that disappointment that you get when a dream is wearing off and real life is taking over. I am enough. I do enough. I am young and full of collagen and fresh and my life is all about Snapchat and batshit. The corners of my eyes itched like mad due to lack of sleep and the prospect of a day at the market research coalface filled me with dread. Pete came downstairs and we seemed to be speaking again but it was back to what was frozen and not frozen, what could be rustled up for dinner, whether it was too cold to hang washing outside. He then announced that he was staying in bed because he had a bad headache (he got these every few months and they usually meant he’d been working too hard). I thought about Bryony and how she’d said that I was too fixated on being middle-aged. Could I push beyond that and stop comparing the past to the present?

‘I don’t want to wear tights,’ Bella complained as I tried to wrestle her into a pair. ‘Too itchy!’

‘These ones have a teddy bear on the bottom,’ I said.

‘Teddies are for babies.’

‘How about leggings?’ I said taking a deep breath.

‘I don’t like leggings. I want bare legs. Daisy has bare legs.’

‘It’s autumn. It’s getting cold. You can’t have bare legs.’

‘I want BARE LEGS.’

‘I won’t get you a treat on my way home from work.’

‘I don’t care.’

‘Okay bare legs it is.’

I sprinted alongside Bella as she flew on her scooter to nursery. Her legs looked like they were going blue from the cold. I’d secretly stuck a pair of tights in her bag and would brief the nursery when I arrived. No doubt they’d text me with an update as to how cold she was and what a crap parent I’d been. She had to be prised out of my arms by two nursery assistants. Sometimes it felt like the arguing about clothing was just delaying tactics so we could spend more time together. That thought made me sad. My wonky eyebrow had settled now. With a face full of Botox I could smile regardless of all the shit hitting the fan.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.