Dear pre-pandemic me

From our Founder, Cherie.

“Dear pre-pandemic me,

Remember when you thought the definition of fatigue was a newborn baby with reflux? … yea.? lol.? You can break out into maniacal laughter now.?

That was not fatigue.

That wasn’t even *close* to fatigue.

It’s a x20 month pandemic, in which you’ll have homeschooled your own children for twelve-straight-months throughout.? But - and this is the hilarious part - you have to somehow fit in CEO’ing a multi 7 figure digital marketing agency in amongst the full-time job that is homeschooling x2 primary aged children throughout a global pandemic.

So, x2 full-time jobs [but you only get paid for x1 … and there are parts of the pandemic that’ll see you reducing your salary to $0 in order to allow your company to sustain the “2020 hits” that it took].

You’ll have gone from working on your confidence as an organisational leader *so* much, to feeling so “professionally gaslit” [courtesy of the pandemic and its impact on you as a working Mother] that you now start every sentence with, “sorry, I …”.??

You cry every Friday [without fail], because no matter how hard you tried that week? You let down so many people, and that’s not even including your x2 children [who see a note almost permanently blu-tac’d to your office door that says, “Mummy is in a meeting” or “Mummy is presenting a workshop”.? Sometimes the door is closed for 7-8 hours, and they’re always the days you cry the most.? You feel like you’ve failed your children.? But you book in with a family psychologist @brenda.spilva, who is teaching you otherwise: in what’ll go down as one of your best 2021 decisions yet].

You log onto a planning meeting with your MD and your Studio Manager and your noise cancelling headphones don’t work any more, and you have no idea that was going to be the thing to finally push you over the edge … but you’re on Zoom.? And you’re crying.? And you’re watching yourself crying: on f*cking Zoom, no less.? In front of your employees.? And you’re whispering, “I’m so sorry.? I’m so tired.? I just can’t do this any more” [and you feel toxic.? And dramatic.? And unprofessional.? And like a complete piece of sh*t].? They tell you to take a day off.? You take it.? You feel better [thanks Cat, thanks Katie].? But one day isn’t enough: it’s never enough for anyone navigating 2021, eh?

You wake at 5am to get through homeschool tasks with your kids, so their academic efforts don’t suffer.? It takes from 5am-9am to get through all of the tasks.? By the time you log in for the team WIP at 9am, you feel like you’ve already pulled an entire work day … and yet, the “work day” is just beginning.??

You’re writing this post today, because the internet keeps everything forever … and you want to read back on this when you’re 90 years old, and you’re a senior citizen ADHD-badass in an aged care facility somewhere.? You want to remember that you were a 30-something woman CEO’ing a company whilst - trying to - get x2 children through a global pandemic.

And you’ll smile and say, “it was impossible.? And it broke you sometimes [many times].? But you did it”.