I’ve often talked about wanting to make a difference, but I’d never quite worked out what sort of difference I wanted to make, or how to go about it in a way that felt like ‘me’. So I held back.   

There are things I care deeply about, like injustice and inequality, particularly when it comes to families. For example, when I read statistics like 1 in 5 children don’t have a book in their home it makes me genuinely sad. Or when children get into trouble from a young age, I can’t help but wonder what has led them to this point, what family life is like for them and what support they (and their parents) have had growing up. Everyone deserves a chance to thrive and flourish, to reach their potential. But some don’t get that opportunity. 

And there are things I can offer: knowledge, experience, coaching expertise, tools, resources, compassion, empathy…  But I worry what I offer isn’t enough. That I don’t know enough. That I’m not enough. 

But getting older and wiser (a point for discussion!) is a wonderful thing. I’ve come to realise that making a difference doesn’t mean solving the world. It simply means making a difference in my own way. I can’t fix all the problems I see in the world, but I can do my bit. It’s ok to only solve part of the puzzle. To help those I feel confident I can help. People I relate to. People with whom I can be myself. And that’s where Working Parents SOS comes in.   

I then pondered how this fitted with my business - chapterfortyfour. The name came from me embarking on a new chapter in my career, stepping away from corporate life aged 44.  A chapter is defined as a period of time that is different to the one before it, a distinctive period in one’s life, and this definitely feels like a new chapter. A chapter of my working life that feels more purposeful, more useful, more me.  And parenting is full of chapters too (to the extent that it can sometimes feel like they never bloody stop and if only things would stay the same for a while!) so it kinda works on both levels.

And the number 44? On the downside, people can work out how old I am  (I’ll save you googling it, I founded the business in 2017). On the plus side, it means I have years of experience of being a coach, a working parent, and a working parent coach that I can share with you. 

FOOTNOTE: As an aside, I also found out that the number 44 is a ‘happy’ number (no, I didn’t know what that meant either). Apparently it’s a number which eventually reaches 1 when replaced by the sum of the square of each digit. Still none the wiser? Here’s how it works: 44 breaks down into 4 and 4. Square each digit (multiply it by itself) and add them together. So (4x4) + (4x4) = 32. Repeat with the digits 3 and 2, i.e. (3x3) + (2x2) = 13. And again: (1x1) + (3x3) = 10. And again: (1x1)+(0x0) = 1 = happy. I bet you’re happy too now, right? 😊