After my most recent blog and the rather hurtful comments – this week I have decided to pull myself together and take positive steps back into the world of work writes Dawn Pearce.

But one thing I’d really like to point out is about how people expect you to not have care in the world, just because you have no job to go to.

As if all you do is sit at home and watch Jeremy Kyle (I must add I never seen an episode of this show) after breakfast.

That’s if you have breakfast of course – you can eat when you want to – so it doesn’t matter really.

But I get as stressed as the next person – I’m rather prone to it.

It turns me into a jittery ranter and a moaner and I’ve actually found that I suffer with it more when I’m unemployed, because I have no targets to meet and generally end up seeing the same people day in day out.

So there you are – many people get stressed working, but it’s the opposite for me.

This week I’ve been in touch with voluntary organisations to try to gain some experience in various fields and use the skills that I already have, but haven’t yet used in a job so have no formal recognition for.

I know you all probably think I should be seeking paid employment; I am also applying for jobs when they turn up and I’m still seeking out the ones that aren’t advertised.

From the comments last week, you also seem to think I have a high and mighty attitude and the wrong idea of what gaining employment is all about.

Well ask yourself this – is it wrong to have high expectations of yourself, no matter who you are?

Throughout my life, I’ve always been encouraged to aim high and strive for the best – an idea instilled in me by my parents who told me that no matter what life throws at you, never settle for second best.

This is the kind of encouragement that I also give my daughter and I hope it sets her in good stead to strive for things I couldn’t quite reach.

I hate what my daughter sees currently – what hope does it give my child when mummy doesn’t go out to work?

But I’m off to join Henry in Aldi, to scrape the bottom of my fridge for a nutritious meal and, whilst it’s the school holidays, I’m also off out and about this glorious county we live in spending time with my daughter.

I’ll be enjoying it while I can, instead of being stuck in an office worrying about her!