Simmi
Simmi is a consultant psychiatrist with two children, one in year 4 and one in year 8. She has been working non-stop for the past 5 months and so her husband has taken most of the responsibility for the children’s school work. Both of the children are vulnerable due to illness and they live with Simmi’s 75 year old mother.
Simmi sits at the dinning table which has become her son’s work desk and is covered with papers and a pink sewing machine.
Simmi sits in her favourite armchair with a table, bookshelf and books in arms reach.
“I have not had a day’s annual leave since I started this job in January, and I had booked May half term to spend some time with the boys, but I had to cancel my annual leave, and I don’t know when I’m going to be able to take leave now.
I’m just getting on with work and getting on with how things are, and I work with a very challenging group of patients. And then trying to dissociate yourself from that when you come home. And then of course we have on calls, I also have to make sure that my phone’s on, make sure that I’m constantly switched on.
My younger son loves cooking and this is a great opportunity to be with him and do some fun things. So, we do those kind of activities where you are trying to get him to find out new recipes that he wants to make, and I have never made cakes or bread in my whole life, but now both of us have become an expert in banana bread. I mean that’s the only thing I can manage as far as baking goes.
So, one of the things we have really struggled with is physical exercise, because I think the focus has been so much on academics that our focus has been taken away from getting the kids to, you know, by the time I get home I’m exhausted and I can’t be bothered to go for a run.”