It's nice to be appreciated

On returning to work after the summer break, I was given a *kind of* promotion! In reality, the job won't change too much but I have been given more responsibility, more interesting tasks and a slight pay rise.

All of which is great news!

But one of the best bits was being told that my colleagues like my work, that I'm considered to be a team player and someone who works hard.


Because it's nice to be appreciated.

And as a parent, as a Mum, there's not a lot of appreciation going around.

It often feels like I can't get anything right. I can't choose the right clothes for Lily - they're too long, too tight, too baggy or have a teeny loose thread hanging from the hem. I don't cook the right meal. I can't put both kids to bed at exactly the same time if I'm feeding one and wanting to read to another.

It often feels like I don't achieve much during my days at home with the kids. Unlike the workplace where I can see the results of work I have produced, a tick list of tasks completed, at home it can seem like my only achievement is keeping the children alive and getting dinner on the table without collapsing in a sobbing heap.

So it was lovely to be complimented for something tangible. To feel worthwhile for a bit.

And it got me thinking, that actually, my family does appreciate me, they just show it in a very different way.

I have worked with bosses, CEOs and managers before who don't dish out hundreds of compliments but you know you're doing a good job because if not, they're definitely going to tell you about it.
Babies are a bit like that. They'll usually only tell you when something is wrong. Then you can fix it. At least for a short time.

Toddlers however, are like those colleagues who will give plenty of feedback. They'll let you know when you've done a great job. But they'll also give you an in-depth critique of all the different ways you have messed up today. They're also the type of managers who give you a task with no instructions and then change their mind halfway through the project...

So, when they do show you any appreciation, you treasure it so much more. OK, it doesn't come with a pay rise or bonuses, but when Lily tells me a couple of times a day that she loves me or "that's great Mummy" it feels me with that warm fuzzy feeling that somehow makes up for the attitude you got for asking her to eat her sandwich off a pink plate instead of yellow.
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