I was about to lose it so this morning I called my mum to see if she could hang out with our little baby for an hour or so. She said she’ll come just before peak hour in the afternoon.

But see, nothing out of the ordinary happened at all. There were no epic meltdown, no poosplosion, not even a desperate desire to tidy up. I did have less sleep than normal but it pretty much comes with the territory sometimes. I just had a feeling that I would implode so I called in reinforcements.

Clover just went down for her nap as Nene came and I almost didn’t leave the house. She kept encouraging me to go but I couldn’t think of a reason why I wanted to go in the first place. But as I looked around the study (where I decided to do project tidy) I realised I just needed a break. So I got out my day clothes said bye to my mum and baby and headed out the door.

The first thing I did was go on my phone to absentmindedly check email and I had the sudden urge to take a break from that as well. Then as I reached the bus stop I suddenly felt like a massage. So I called, made the appointment in twenty minutes time and everything felt lighter.

As I got closer to Thai Bliss I made a conscious effort to breathe and be in the moment. I went in guilt free, smiling and relaxed. It was bliss.

I walked out feeling refreshed and a better person. Because as they say on the plane, you have to put your mask on before you help your child (or anyone else).