“WHAT DID YOU DO ALL DAY ??!”

One day a man came home to find their house in complete disarray. The dishes were piled high in the sink, the Amazon packages lay at the doorstep, dirty laundry was everywhere, toys were strewn across the floor, the dog was nowhere in sight, the bathroom towels lay in piles in the corner, the lights and fans were all on, the water was dripping from the tap, the toothpaste cap left open, crumbs lay all across the kitchen and dining room floor, the phone was ringing off the hook, the fruit bowl was empty, the fridge was lying open and emptied out, there was no dinner in sight, the bills lay piled up on the desk, the kids were still in their pajamas, with dried blood on their knees and sitting like zombies in front of an iPad.

But there was no sign of his wife. Gripped by worry, he ran from room to room, fearing the worst.

He finally found her under the covers, with music in the background and reading a book. “Are you ok?? What happened??!!” he asked.

She smiled and said, “You ask me what I do all day….well today, I decided to do nothing.” 

Many of us have either heard it being asked of us or another mum around, “But, what did you do all day??!” Not just from our partners but from colleagues, friends and other randoms, most often, meaning no harm.

This is one of the reasons I created Mamma-Miya: to put an end to that question. To hopefully replace it with, “Wow, thank you for everything you do, everyday!”

In my humble opinion, having lived on both sides of this coin, going in to work everyday – no matter how stressful the job has been, from Finance to Formula 1 and now, entrepreneurship – is nothing in comparison to any random day, as a MUM! And I, speak from a privileged space of being very strongly supported by an incredible village around me.

The tip of the iceberg is what we achieve at work or outside our homes. Throw in home management, the emotional load of our family, playing referee to various kinds of disputes, time for our own health, the neighbors and community around, staying in touch with extended family and friends, the constant decision making and the endless planning… and you have just a regular (probably exhausted) mum hacking away to keep herself and her family afloat! Yet rather magically, with enough energy leftover for love and hugs to tuck each one into bed at night.

Mamma-Miya really is a tribute to all those mums – who do so much and then more, every single day – for years and years. A majority of it invisible. Most of it seemingly thankless. A lot of it mindless, yet ironically, so often trumping our energy and desire to do something meaningful.

What I have discovered along this journey is that by using Mamma-Miya it helps me:

a) to see where my day seems to escape

b) helps me be more mindful by taking away the exhausting loop of what should be getting done and most importantly,

c) brings what matters most, to ME, back into my life’s everyday equation.