I was ridiculously excited to be asked to take on the role of secretary for our school PTA. My love of proofreading, note-taking and list-making found a home. Now I can’t work as a teacher anymore, I long for nothing else. I dream of school almost every night and content myself with being a parent helper.

At first I felt useless and boring at meetings, remembering how I used to lead a team and present to senior managers. Then I started to relax, waving to people I now knew on the playground. This felt good.

I made biscuits for the Christmas Fayre, but reaching for the flour somehow managed to send a cupboard crashing down. Coaxing dough into gingerbread men proved too stressful and I ended up making baubles. Half of them weren’t round, the few my daughters helped with were the wrong size, as they went off piste. Then my daughter dropped them. This was worse than the Bake Off!

It turns out my PTA experience is much like my life. I have the best intentions and am conscientious but am also clumsy and prone to panic. I need constant validation. I can’t quite believe I’ll never have another job.

The fayre was a success and as I sit with aching feet contemplating the crumbs, I love myself and the dream team a little bit more!