Guest Blog Post - Olivia Bath, CEO and Founder of The Women’s Vault

Wednesdays.

This day has become the most important day of the week as the days have blurred from one to the next during the lockdown.

Early on, I was naive to how long we’d be here, or how great the impact would be on all of us.

And I so started to create mid-week rituals. A commitment to doing something special every Wednesday.

The first week I booked into a live, online pilates class. Ordinarily this would be no big deal.

But in lockdown times that pilates class was an emotional saviour, from juggling our 18 month old toddler who was teething and a grumpy mess, vastly different from his usual cheerful self and my business.

Just the anticipation of it got me through several days of my own mental state oscillating between calm and “end of my tether” frustration, from happiness to lack of sleep exhaustion. It relaxed me, revived and refreshed me.

Since then, my husband and I have had candlelight dinners, using my Grandfather’s antique cutlery and gifted champagne glasses that were shipped from our home in Australia last year.

On another Wednesday, we walked to Royal London Hospital to collect a prescription, expecting blaring sirens and Covid patients being wheeled into Emergency. Instead it was eerily quiet, just a few paramedics standing around with takeaway coffees. Afterwards, my son and I found a quiet square behind the hospital and overlooked by beautiful Georgian houses in an otherwise grimy area. A spot we never would have gone otherwise.

Next week we’ve already planned to do a long walk down Regent’s canal to where it meets the Thames, exploring a new part of London and breaking the habit of turning left when we leave the house to walk up to the park.

We’ve talked about what time we’ll leave so we can be home in time to put our son to bed and what new white wine we’ll try and pack in our picnic and where could our picnic blanket have gone in our move last year. The simple act of planning this little adventure has sparked excitement.

Other Mums have been doing mid-week rituals too

I’ve been encouraging the women I work with – many of whom have young children, to try my “mid-week ritual” routine.

One told me of starting a herb garden, one of the most therapeutic things she’s done and has helped to heal the grief she’s going through.

Another scours Instagram TV on Mondays and Tuesdays and finds toughest workout she can possibly do, sweating and swearing her way through it.

For those who aren’t able to work, or whose jobs have been furloughed, the “mid-week ritual” has got them through, it has given them something to talk about with friends when they call.

I encourage you to try it – you’ll be amazed at how with the rest of the week being a blur, you’ll remember what you did on a Wednesday in lockdown.

You may even start that new hobby or skill you’ve been promising yourself you’ll start in lockdown.

Bio:

Olivia is the CEO and Founder of the Women’s Vault, which helps professional, first-time Mums return to work from maternity leave so they can balance the joys of motherhood and continue to build their career, without the burnout, stress and overwhelm experienced by other Mums.

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