Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s all-round super mum Tara Bannon, who tells Iggy Fenech just how she manages to juggle her family duties with keeping a personal and social life.
Being a parent is one of the most rewarding roles in the world, but as mother-of-five Tara Bannon found out over the years, it can also get extremely and incessantly hectic.
Yet, even with five children aged between 21 and three, a granddaughter and a cat, she still managed to keep up a thriving personal life. But how does she do it? Does she have special powers? Has she given up on ever sleeping again? No, according to her, it’s all down to one, crucial thing.
“I’ve become a bit of a routine freak and, as long as I stick to it, I manage to do everything I have planned for that particular day,” says Tara. “I normally wake up at 6.45am. But since my husband, Oliver, drops our eldest daughter, Kate, off to school, I get to laze about in bed till about 7.30am.
“Once I get out of bed, I start getting the youngest three – that’s Ben, Emma and Faye – ready for school. I drop them off and start fixing lunch. I’m currently without a car, so at noon either my husband or my mother collect the kids. When neither of them can manage that, I just get the bus down to Sliema, and the kids love it! They have such a ball being on a bus, but the walk uphill to get home is a completely different story.
“Once they’ve had lunch, the youngest usually nap for an hour before they get their homework done. Then, in the late afternoon or in the evening, we either go to the park, or the area behind our house. They’ve also got a pretty full schedule: Tuesday is catechism day; Wednesday is drama day; Thursday is Maltese day – but that’s only for Kate who gets extra Maltese lessons; and Friday is what-does-everyone-want-to-do day.
“The weekend is all about what mama and dada want to do, however. My husband and I try to make it a point that just the two of us go out and relax once a week. Of course, we get one of our parents to look after the kids, and it’s nice to get to spend some quality time together.”
Tuesday is catechism day; Wednesday is drama day; Thursday is Maltese day – but that’s only for Kate who gets extra Maltese lessons; and Friday is what-does- everyone-want-to-do day
When Tara was pregnant with her youngest, twin daughters Emma and Faye, her eldest, Jake, was expecting his first child. Chelsea, who is just six months younger than her aunties, now visits twice a week to spend time with the rest of the clan and the family cat, Pejxa.
But even with such a jam-packed schedule, Tara still finds time to go boxing twice a week – which she says helps her vent her frustrations – and to volunteer at the Ħal Far detention centre.
“I basically have a lot of help, which is why I don’t consider myself a super mum,” continues Tara. “My husband phones me all the time asking whether I need anything from the shops, and he’s always given a frightfully long list. We also have someone who comes in to help in the mornings, but I brought her in to take care of the house, rather than the kids – although she does look after them when I go boxing. My mum and Oliver’s mum also help out a lot, and we couldn’t manage without them.”
Although having a big family had always been Tara’s dream, she spent almost 15 years as a single mum looking after her eldest son, Jake. Fifteen years later, however, having met her husband-to-be, Oliver, Tara had Kate, who is now six; Ben, currently four; and twins, Emma and Faye, who celebrated their third birthday last Christmas Eve.
“It’s all wonderful, really,” says Tara. “As much as I want to scream at them sometimes, they’ll always do something that makes me realise just how lucky I am. I’m so happy that they’re healthy and loving. Even though they throw little tantrums sometimes, I love the fact that they all have different characters and I miss them when they’re not around. “Recently, Oliver, Jake, his girlfriend and I went skiing together, and it was great to actually have a break and get to spend time with my husband and eldest son. But we all kept mentioning the others, wondering about how they would have reacted to certain things.
“It does get manic having five kids in the house, but I think the fact that as soon as you become a mum you never stop worrying is quite overwhelming. From the second you have that baby you just think: my God, this is my responsibility. When I help out in Ħal Far, I just look at the Syrian families and think, ‘That could have been my family or my children’, and that scares me. In fact, when Jake decides to have a night in, I feel relieved knowing everyone’s under one roof and well and safe – I just wish they’d all stick to their own beds!”
“It’s crazy, but there are always bodies in our bed,” jokes Tara. “There’s myself and Oliver; Faye who climbs over us; Emma who comes from the other side of the bed; and their dollies, of course. Then, if Ben has had a nightmare, he’ll crawl into our bed next to our feet. And then, to top it all off, Jake will come in from Paceville and start having a conversation with us, and Oliver will just go, ‘Really?’ It’s all quite hilarious!”
As frenzied as having five children can get, planning things out while still being flexible has helped Tara find a balance in what could have otherwise been an overwhelming situation. Her time away from her family, albeit for few hours every week, gives her the opportunity to be alone with herself and to vent out any frustrations that are bound to arise when dealing with five kids.
But, more importantly, it also reminds her of just how lucky she is to have been blessed with such wonderful and adorable children.