Different lifestyles and juggling different plates from other mums

[Ragingoverlife]

I'm feeling really isolated within my friendship /mum group. I'm always busy doing x y and z, quite frankly I'm going through a mega shit time. And I'm highly stressed. Everyone I know seems to go to play group or the library or rhyme time or out for lunch. I'm working or running around like a blue arse fly. I dont even work that much. But I'm self employed so it comes with many disadvantages. (Like no maternity) and shit loads of paper work.

My friends don't work for their own reasons and they are happy I'm just feeling trapped. I don't even earn a lot but without those earnings it's a difference between taking kids out at the end of the month or not or buying school shoes. It's necessary.

I'm a parent of multiple aged children so this doesn't help either I'm splitting myself continually x

Sounds like you need different friends, OP. I mean, everyone has different plates, obviously — I have one child and a husband, so mine are different to a single mother of three with an uninvolved co-parent — but I don’t have any parent friends of either sex who don’t work.

I have probably 10-15 good friends the ones that work don't have kids or their kids are older, a couple have health conditions and the rest have young kids who are stay at home parents. Because of different circumstances I just feel I don't fit in anywhere.

I'm also a parent carer of a pre teen (additional needs) and not many friends can relate to that. Ironically the ones that I relate to most are my clients (I work in children's support helping families which I LOVE)

Why are you comparing yourself? Everyone has different life stages and how busy they are, but I will say this - you do have time - you just have to accept it and take it for the things you want.