I am so ready for September - Hair To Go with Derry's Margaret Doherty & Co.

I love having my four wains at home. I love the freedom of summer, the lazy mornings, the days out and making memories together. We’ve had some amazing days this summer, and our family holiday was definitely a highlight.

But if I’m being completely honest, I’ve also found this summer overwhelming.

As a mammy of four and a business owner, I always feel this pressure to be home as much as possible when the wains are off school, while still trying to keep the business going.

And that guilt can be brutal.

The question that has probably got me more than anything this summer is, “Are you working today again?”

Even though I know they don’t mean anything by it, it gets me every single time. Then there’s the daily question: “What are we doing today?” Every morning!

I found myself feeling like I had to have something planned all the time. A day out, somewhere to go, something to keep them entertained. And at the same time, I was trying to work, manage the salon, deal with staff holidays and sickness and still be present for my wains.

I even dropped my gym over the summer. I stopped my daily walks. I cut my working hours as much as I possibly could because I wanted to be there. And still, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough.

I think that’s the hardest part of being a working mammy. You can be physically there and still feel guilty that you’re not doing enough. You can be working and feel guilty that you’re not at home. You can be at home and be thinking about everything that needs to be done at work.

There were definitely moments this summer when I felt completely overwhelmed and wondered how I was going to keep all the plates spinning. But amongst all of that, there have been so many lovely moments.

We’ve had fun days together, plenty of laughs and memories I wouldn’t swap for anything. Our holiday with my family was amazing, and those are the moments I’ll remember when the chaos of summer is a distant memory.

But I am still very happy to say… Bring on September! Bring on school uniforms, lunchboxes, early mornings, school runs and some sort of routine again.

I think school actually gives working mammies a balance that we sometimes don’t appreciate until summer holidays.

It gives us those hours to work, to concentrate on our businesses and careers, and hopefully get some time to ourselves too. Then when the wains come home, we can hopefully be more present because we’ve had that time to get things done.

I know I’m looking forward to getting back to my gym, my walks and having a bit more structure in my own life again.

So to all the working mammys who have survived the summer holidays feeling like they’ve been pulled in a hundred different directions, I see you.

Now let’s get the uniforms ready, get the wains back through those school gates and maybe find a little bit of time for ourselves again.

September, I’m ready for you!