When Exactly Does School Begin Again?

Look at these kids. Bored out of their minds. Summer must be almost over.

This is a strange time of the year for stay at home mothers. Just a couple of weeks ago we were basking in the glow of summer break. No routine. No homework. No racing around for after school activities. You get to sleep in late(ish). There are no tests to study for. No projects are due. You don’t even have to bake a single dish for the PTO. Ahhh…isn’t summer grand?

But then it happens. All of a sudden something changes. You find yourself looking forward to the new school year. Now please don’t bombard me with how I should be ashamed for admitting this because each child is a blessing. I KNOW THIS! Don’t try to scare me by saying I will blink my eyes and my kids will be grown. I KNOW THIS. Don’t tell me that one day I will long for my once little children to be home with me again. I KNOW THIS, TOO.

I love my children. I am devoted to them. But by the end of summer break there comes a time when we need a break from each other. Home school you say? You are saintly. No thank you. My kids would say the same thing. There comes a point where we all need to get back to our routines.

How do you know when you have entered this phase? Here are some things to look for:

1. Kids finally start sleeping in later. Now you have to work to get them back on the school schedule. Fun.

2. They are so sick of one another that they argue every waking second. Even the once sacred neighborhood pool is not stopping the bickering.

3. All of their shoes have holes in them. No one wants to send their kid to school on the first day with too small or worn shoes. The tenth day sure, but not the first. Time to buy shoes.

4. Everything you come up with for your kids to do for entertainment, they declare it “boring”. When did it become the parents’ job to keep kids entertained?

5. When summer break started you had a strict no tv rule. You were not going to let them sit around all summer wasting brain cells. Now you beg them to sit for hours and watch mindless tv. Until they declare that too is boring.

6. You are so sick of going to the grocery store with your kids that you instead opt to run out of the basic food staples just to avoid the ordeal. Who needs bread.

7. The buzz of the impending new school year gets you a wee bit excited. A new school year means more work for everyone BUT it also means there won’t be a group of little people watching your every waking move. And a few of your sleeping ones.

8. If you find yourself in a group of mothers, you will see the same defeated, worn out look that you saw in the mirror this morning. You are not alone.

9. The thought of getting a second mortgage just to buy all of the school supplies that your kids need for the new year seems totally worth it. Who doesn’t love the smell of new pencils and notebooks?

10. Your kids miss their friend. And they tell you. Over and over. They need a break from you too.

If you daydream about skipping through the grocery store all alone, meeting your friends for lunch or even going to the gynecologist for a check up because it is always so darn quiet in there, it must be time for school to start back.

The first day back I will drive my sweeties to school. I will kiss and squeeze them hard. I will tell them how much I am going to miss them and that I will TRY to find things to pass the time. I will wave goodbye as I pull away, careful not to squeal my tires.

Once out of sight I will turn my radio up all the way. I will ride with my windows down as I sing at the top of my lungs. I will give the thumbs up sign to every mother I pass. You see I am a stay at home mother. I have been fortunate enough to be able to be here for my family and that is exactly where I want to be.

However I will not feel guilty for enjoying my time away from them as well. I will not think twice before turning cart wheels through Kroger. Sure it is probably inappropriate to laugh like a hyena while standing in the pharmacy line. But I will not stop. And maybe the group of moms eating lunch at the local Mexican restaurant will be a little loud and rowdy that first day. But we will not apologize.

Never fear though. We will be there in the school pick up line on time. We will welcome our kids back home from school with a big hug. We will ask them all about their first day. And we will be genuinely glad to have them back with us. We are stay at home mothers and we love our jobs.

Enjoy your last bit of summer 😉

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