More than a Mum is about sharing stories, advice and information which will benefit you as a Mum and a woman and the other day I was recounting a story to Loretta and she said to me that it just had to be a blog post! To me it was a story of my ineptitude, but according to Loretta there may be more people out there who share my ability to be planned and ready for anything as a Mum and yet to completely forget the simple things about myself! So toady I shall tell you about an awkward moment I had recently in exchange for you telling me few of your own awkward moments!
My story took place a few weeks ago at the Jubilee Family Fun festival in Hyde Park. My University housemates and I, most of whom have children around the same age as Munchkin now, had all decided to get together for the Jubilee weekend and got tickets for the Saturday of the Family Fun Weekend.
We headed into town with clothing for every eventuality, picnic blankets and toys for the kids. The Festival itself wasn’t exactly everything we’d hoped for. There was a lot of queuing and most things were in fact corporate advertising rather than real kids’ fun (imagine a half hour queue to shake hand with a bloke in an Andrex puppy outfit… )and the things that were for our aged children, such as the show tent with Mike the Knight, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina and the like was small, again featured a massive queue (45 minutes at one point for a ten minute show) and the Disney activity tent shut five hours before the end of the festival. But that’s another whinge!
Anyway, the point of the story: Whilst the husbands were queuing for some food for everyone (another 1 hour queue!) we girls were witting watching the kids run around like loons and catching up. It was then I realised that that lovely, womanly monthly event had come upon me! Yup, I’d got my period. And here let me remind you of my amazing organisation for everything we might need, except, yup you’ve guessed it. No tampons, towels or anything else.
So I am here in the festival. You cannot get out and come back in and there are no shops likely to sell the sorts of female necessities I am searching for… the first course of action? As always ask your friends. Unfortunately they were all either pregnant or had just had their periods. So, I decided the next best option was the first aid tent. Not quite a first aid situation, but the best option I had. So I headed over to the tent. When I got there it was predictably staffed by all young men. So I picked one of them and told him my issue. He (red faced) disappeared off into the tent to see what he could do. When he did not return, another one disappeared in after him. No doubt to ease his own embarrassment at having to make eye contact with me! They both returned to tell me that they did not have any of the necessary equipment for poorly planned women and so I headed off into the crowd deciding that there was only one course of action left… approaching random strangers!
I headed up to groups of ladies and asked if any of them could help me. A few looked at me as if I might be some kids of criminal pulling a scam, hugged the handbags close and eyed me suspiciously, but most women looked apologetic or searched in their handbags in an attempt to help me out. It took asking about 10 women before I came across two ladies who sympathised utterly and both found their emergency supplies and sent me off with all they had saying my need was greater than theirs.
So, I have great faith in the sisterhood. I may not have been prepared for anything, but some of us were and they were more than happy to help me out. To the ladies who gave me their supplies, a whole-hearted thank you.
To the rest of you out there – are you, like me, able to plan for every eventuality for the kids whilst utterly forgetting about yourself and your needs? Do you have any awkward moments you could share with us to make me and other Mums feel better? What is your most embarressing Mummy-moment?
