This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
“It is the morning of the school carol concert and I am hitting mince pies.”
The book and the film of I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson are set in two different cities, two different countries, two different continents, but the feelings and complexities of daily life for women on both continents are exactly the same.
Women struggling to have or do it all is nothing new but the issue is still fresh to many women every day as they juggle childcare and a career. We appear to be a generation where we feel we have to do it all, or be seen to do it all, and if we can't we fake it.
Or maybe not fake it but distress it.
Kate Reddy, financial whizz at a banking firm, works long hours and travels away from home a lot for meetings. She can't say no to work, there is always someone else there to grab ownership of the ideas, and often disappoints her husband and children instead. It is a fine juggling act and if a spanner is thrown amongst the juggling balls family plans can be curtailed and a daughter's disappointment in not making a snowman can twang heartstrings which in turn leads in a straight line towards guilt.
To the outside world Kate appears to be managing – even excelling. But waking in the middle of the night making mental lists and trying to make sure all exits are covered for the day ahead is not something anyone but Kate knows about.
And to demonstrate she can work and have children and do everything else that comes with being an adult, she makes a pie for a school event. OK, she doesn't make one. She doesn't have time. So she buys one and distresses it to make it look homemade. After all, if she can't actually achieve it all, she can make it look like she can. The reason? She doesn't want to disappoint her daughter – whose friends will be bringing in homemade Martha Stewart type pies.
Now I would be the first one to say homemade tastes so much better. But I also know what it feels like to run out of time and to chase your tail all day long. So this is my recipe for pie especially for Kate Reddy.
Ingredients
One shop bought pie
Method
- Buy pie from shop.
- Take off packaging.
- Throw packing in bin (or recycling) along with guilt.
- Enjoy the rest of the day and not give pie a second thought.
If you do fancy making your own pie then you can't go wrong with Mary Berry or Delia. (Ready made pastry can be found in the chiller or freezer section of the supermarket.)