Kelly Pegg is a journalist and broadcaster working in radio for more than 15 years. She is a mum of two who was born and raised in the East Midlands and loves living in Nottinghamshire with her family. She hosts the podcast The Hot Mess Mums' Club with TV Presenter Jenny Powell, supporting and empowering women everywhere. You can find it on Instagram @thehotmessmums
This week I realised that perhaps my husband and I have spent too much time together of late.
We always have been that couple who choose a night in together watching Netflix over a night out with friends.
In truth, we live for each other and probably don’t have a buoyant enough social life away from each other.
It’s never bothered me before; I have always felt lucky that we both have chosen to be with one another over a night out with mates at the pub or a weekend away with the girls.
Lately, the realisation of how my life has changed since Covid and lockdown has really started to sink in.
I’m home-based for work, and I have been for a long time.
Like many of you mums reading this I am only now starting to feel the ramifications of lockdown and what we have all endured and I’m starting to feel a little like a caged bird.
Marriage and mum life is often repetitive, which I tend to find comfort in as it’s nice to know where you are. That, along with the security and the love having a family brings you, is, without doubt, a blessing.
Like any normal person though there are times, especially of late, where I’ve felt lonely and I’ve missed going out to work, I’ve missed the identity that I used to have.
I watch my husband juggling a busy career and a MA as well as helping with our family business and I’m in awe if the truth be known and a little envious.
He looks at me being at home, having more free time, going to the gym and having coffee with friends and tells me I’m living the dream life.
It can be that at times in our life we don’t know how good we have it I guess and it’s easy to look at someone else and think they have it made.
The last week or two my husband and I have had a few arguments which is very unlike us, and I feel frustrated trying to work out what has caused them.
I run through all sorts of reasons, stress, the way the world feels so uncertain now, and the aftermath of lockdown.
I appear to be analysing everything and wanting answers when the truth is even the happiest of couples disagree and fall out from time to time.
No one gets on perfectly 100 per cent of the time right?
Perhaps if we spoke about the difficulties encountered in long-serving relationships we would actually be breaking a taboo and helping each other.
There is this unreal, false expectation of perfection that if we admit to having had an argument or feeling a little low our relationship is failing.
Really the truth is it’s actually healthy to disagree, fall out, get fed up with each other sometimes and I’d say it isn’t normal not to!
Loving someone and sharing your life with them day in day out is wonderful but like everything that is worth it, it requires hard work and when we’ve all been spending a bit more time together than usual thanks to covid and lockdowns well that can test even the happiest of the couples.
To read all the biggest and best stories first sign up to read our newsletters here.
