Mum’s the Word with Angellica Bell: Making time for Masterchef Michael (From Kingston Guardian)

Mum’s the Word with Angellica Bell: Making time for Masterchef Michael

7:00am Sunday 23rd September 2012 in News

I had a meeting this week with a BBC executive.

She had recently attended her university reunion, during which she defined herself as a mother. Apparently, this didn’t go down too well.

Since then, I’ve thought long and hard about how would I define myself? Mother, broadcaster, homemaker… and wife.

I just remembered the wife part.

I visited another friend this week whose baby has just turned one.

She flippantly mentioned that at one stage she nearly divorced her husband.

That is how tough the first year had been.

They say having a first child can impact on a relationship and I can see why: sleep deprivation, extra house chores, changing nappies and just generally trying to fit everything in.

Luckily Michael and I have adjusted well to it all, but if I am honest this year has all been about my son and not about my husband.

I started to feel bad and decided we should have a chat and think of ways to make more time for each other.

After laughing about how we could possibly find any spare time we did manage to come up with a few ideas.

No laptops and phones after Elijah has gone to bed (within reason).

I suggested playing board games like Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit (Michael wasn’t convinced) as well as movie nights and some romantic dinners at home (cooked by my very own MasterChef).

I couldn’t imagine not having Elijah in our lives, so this isn’t about getting back to where we were before the little monkey arrived.

It is about making sure we don’t forget how important small romantic gestures can be, especially when we only have a few minutes each day to make the most of them.

One thing’s for sure – so far so good.

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