I rarely reflect. I just move. From one thing, to another, to another. I think my self-identity is tied up in what it is I accomplish.
I found it REALLY hard to resign my position as Head of Middle School, a few months before my middle child was born… several years ago, now. I realised then that my identity lay in what I did, rather than who I was, and I also (painfully) realised that my perception of ‘motherhood’ carried nowhere near as much importance or weight, as my occupation did. But I got over it – and it’s only now that I’m back working permanently again (well, for an external employer anyway. I feel as though I kinda *was* working again when I started my website, and then my marketing business!) but I still wonder what my identity is tied up in.
Am I a wife? a mother? a care-giver? a small businesswoman? a boss? a student (on leave this year)? a part-time teacher? a house-owner? a cook / cleaner / washerwoman / housekeeper? how about a daughter / daughter-in-law? sister? sister-in-law? mentor? friend? or from a wider perspective – a child of God? a creation who is closer to her 40th birthday than her 35th (or even 38th?!!!)?
Or am I a combination of all of the above – simply just me?