School’s back and I’m falling apart.
By MIA FREEDMAN
School went back today and already my happy family is falling apart. I am not my best in the morning and neither is my daughter. We are not morning people.
And over the holidays, I have been lulled into a lovely sense of tranquility by the lack of structure. While we were on holidays, obviously, it was super cruisey. Beach life. Late nights. Lazy mornings. Nobody had to be anywhere. No demands of any kind.
When we came home and Jason and I returned to work, it was a gentle re-entry because the kids were still on holidays and only the adults had to be up, dressed and out the door by 8am. Actually 8:30am because there was no traffic.
It’s astonishingly easy to leave the house on time when the only thing you have to worry about is how to transport your green smoothie to work.
The degree of difficulty has upped steadily since then. My 4yo went back to pre-school last week, my eldest went back to high school yesterday and Coco went into 2nd class today.
Naturally, things fell apart immediately. My daughter gets very anxious and doesn’t like change. Even though she wasn’t starting a new school, she had a new teacher and a new classroom and that was enough to tip her over the edge. And naturally, she dragged me with her, the rest of the family hurtling down in my wake.
Don’t I look calm? That’s because this photo was taken last week.
It’s been an emotionally charged 24 hours not made any easier by the fact we arrived late for ‘registration’ at her school yesterday which went from 2-3pm. (I am self-employed and have almost complete control of my working hours and STILL I struggle to fit in with the school clock which appears to operate oblivious of the outside world but anyway…)
I am going to write a post about being late because I have realised it is a chronic problem for me – and by association, my children.
Things just got worse this morning. While trying to talk my daughter through her anxieties and explain to my youngest why he can no longer watch the iPad in the morning, wipe bottoms, retrieve school bags, lunch boxes, drink bottles and every other bit of paraphernalia required to get a family of 5 out the door by 8am (by the time I got into the car it was 8:14 – FAIL), I kept trying not to lose it.
First day! La la la la la!
But oh man…..I’m so not match fit. And don’t even get me started on the pile of school forms I have to fill out and the pile of books demanding to be covered in bloody contact that await me when I get home from work.
How long until the next school holidays?
(If you liked this post, you’ll probably also like this one from Kate Hunter: “Fact: There is no need to cover schoolbooks.”)
Comments
23 Comments so far
You know what… I have 3 issuses with this.
1. I struggle to fit in with the school clock which appears to operate oblivious of the outside world but anyway – Ok then welll because you cant be organised the whole education system will change to fit in with you. Seriously! School hours have been like this for a long time. Teachers are people to, we have to fit in with others ‘clocks’ and deal with it, give it a shot.
2. Being late always – hight of rudeness.
3. A child with anxiety would benifit from parents that do not constantly run late. running late is stressful for these chn.
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I’m so happy! My people are out there. I feel like I’ve come home!
Re: Lateness
I am late sometimes; much more than I would like. I would never intentionally keep someone waiting but being on time seems to come more easily to others. I find it embarrassing and stressful – made worse by those ill mannered people who pass comment on my bad mannered tardiness – don’t they see the irony?
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I drove my 12 year old to his first day of year 7- I assumed it started at 9am, as school had done for the past 7 years I had been doing the ‘school thing’. Well, never assume because my kid had to walk into a staged auditorium (into the front of it) with the principal speaking, because I was late- without even realising it…HIgh school starts at 8.45, apparently.
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I can and can’t relate to this post.
I always find it interesting that at the end of each school term, and the beginning of the next one, I see lots of friends post about the change of routine on Facebook, and they seem to fall into two camps – those that looove school holidays and loathe having to return to a life that is scheduled like a military-style operation, and those who like the structure that the school term offers, and welcome a break (however small) from domestic servitude! I’m definitely in the second camp.
After eight weeks of school holidays with two young children, I’m starting to go mad! Perhaps it’s because I’ve been home with my kids for four years full-time, as well as running my own business from home, so have long forgotten the concept of ‘me time’, but even those few hours during the day when my eldest son is at preschool (two to three days a week) makes life a little easier, even if the mornings getting every out the door on time can be chaos. For me it’s a worthwhile trade-off!
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I relate to this so much. I hate mornings. School holidays are hard but nothing is worse than mornings.
Thank-you Mia for making me feel more normal
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Oh bless you! I am so hearing you on this one!
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I am glad to be back to routine and so are the kids. My girls went back to school on wednesday and my son to preschool today. I feel like I can finally breathe again! They have done nothing but fight and be horrible to one another for the last week of holidays and I was over it – and so were they – it was time for them to start using their brains again and be back at school.
They are very happy to be back at school with their friends and new teachers and into a weekly routine, yes it was lovely to drop it for a while over summer holidays but now that the calendar is filled up with three days of after school commitments each week, our weekend activities are back on and my husband has calendared upcoming information and mid year parent teacher nights we are good to go!
Bring it on!
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Mia, I wanted to let you know that I feel your pain. Hope next week is much, much better.
Also, never contact if you can possibly buy plastic sleeves for exercise books. Contact is EVIL.
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Mia, i so hear you. I’m already over it and my husband doesn’t even go back to work until Monday. Ohhhh dear.
I’ve got 4 kids under 7, the eldest two at school. They are now on split sites so i have to juggle getting the eldest then marching the three of them up the street to get number two, who today literally threw her bag on the ground and wailed, “You were SOOOOOO late!!” Love, i’m going to be late the for the next, oh, entire year until you too go across the street and join your brother. I don’t even want to think about what to do when it’s raining and my 4 year old is insisting i pick him up, or worse still – can we please chuck the 20 month old out of the stroller so he can sit in there instead? Pleeeeease muuuuum pleeeeeeese!!!!
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8 weeks and counting!!!!
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I. hear. you.
That is all.
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Lateness is something I’m really good at. I’m not sure why – maybe it’s a competitive thing: ‘yes, I can squeeze three extra minutes in bed, read an extra page of the newspaper, and have a couple more minutes in the shower, and STILL beat the train to the station by ten seconds – WIN’.
But I understand what Anonymoose is saying – it is arrogant to expect people to wait around for you. My husband has been patiently doing so for nearly twenty years – his good behaviour has shamed me into a semblance of punctuality the rest of my family can only marvel at. They’re all worse than I am.
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Lateness is my pet hate.
To me it says that I think my time is more important than yours therefore you can wait for me and is a bit arrogant.
And yes I did come to work wearing my grumpy pants today!
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But often lateness isn’t about arrogance. Nor is it about not valuing other people’s time.
I’m not good at estimating how long things will take me. I know this, so I deliberately give myself a margin of error. I aim to be early, rather than merely on-time; I allow extra time in case in the train’s delayed or I can’t easily find a park spot. Consequently most of the time I am successful.
But not always.
I don’t like being late. It’s embarrassing and awkward. I don’t intend – or want – to inconvenience anyone else. Punctuality is this skill I am still learning. I’m getting better but I’m still not perfect.
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I doubt people set out with the intention of making others wait. In the past I used to always cut it fine or be late and I was stressed rushing to get where I need to be. I made an effort to change and not be stressed to get places and was either super early (which annoys me a bit) or on time. Throw a new baby into the mix and I now have to allow an extra hour just to be on time and even then I am sometimes late.. I would hope people understand that sometimes being late is unavoidable and it is not a competition in whose time is more important.
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Totally agree. Lateness is so inconsiderate.
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I used to feel the same. Actually I still do. I hate being late, hate it. But like Mia, I am self employed and I find it even harder to be on time now than I did when I was working for someone else. There are always deadlines for work and clients demands are the biggest thing that keep the business going soooo unfortunately other things have to wait or I’ll be out of a job… but yes, definitely not intentional or laced with arrogance!!
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It’s interesting to hear you say it’s arrogant ‘moose. I am an introvert and there is nothing worse in my world than arriving early and being the first one there. It is a horrible situation for someone as self conscious as me – I break out in a sweat, become paranoid that I have the wrong day/date/time or that everyone has somehow organised another venue and not told me. I have been known to be walking toward the door to go back home, when others finally arrive (on time).
I try then to arrive on time or possible five minutes late when I know that there will at least be someone else there already. I realise it’s rude to keep people waiting, but I’d rather slip into a seat and sit quietly listening to others’ already started conversation than have to be the one to start it.
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9 weeks until holidays!
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Sorry, it’s 10… 11 week term, this one!
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Depends where you are – our school finishes just before Easter, so it’s a 9 week term for us. And week 1 ends tomorrow, it was only a 3 day week
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9 weeks for us too…yay. I love holidays!!
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Not in QLD! A delicious, short and sharp 9 weeks. Thank goodness!
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