At the end of the year we can’t wait for the school holidays to kick off. Fast forward five weeks and we are hanging for the school term to begin. If you were elated to pack the kids’ lunchboxes and bid them adieu, you are not alone. While all that extra family time is wonderful, it’s also great to get back to some semblance of normality. Here’s why I’m stoked the kids are back at school.

Routine is rad.

Routine and parental sanity go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong. There’s something calming about waking up and knowing what the day has in store for you and your brood. Holidays? Well they’re a little too fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants. Breakfast can be anywhere between 7am and 10am and the kids’ bedtime gradually extends into that sacred time when you and your husband get to ignore each other while scrolling through Instagram and watching Netflix. Thinking of fun things to do every dang day and getting zero downtime? Not so fun after weeks and weeks…and weeks.

The kids are learning again.

I love it when my kids get back from kinder and start telling me random facts about dinosaurs, Ancient Egypt and the solar system, even if they do giggle hysterically whenever they mention Uranus. Their teachers do the most brilliant job of helping them grasp new concepts and skills and I love seeing their proud little faces when they recite new information over the dinner table. After spending so much time out and about over the holidays, it’s actually refreshing to sit down and help the kids with their homework.

Hello ‘me’ time!

Anyone who has tried to take a child to a beauty appointment knows it is a special kind of hell – they refuse to sit still, they’re prone to a whinge and the staff end up giving you the hairy eyeball. And that’s not all that’s hairy. By the end of the school holidays a lot of us look like Chewbacca's grandma – we’ve got a full monobrow and a head full of greasy, grey roots. It takes the start of the school term for me to finally get my brows plucked, legs waxed and roots touched up. Bam! I’m back in my (late) 30s.

I’m no longer broke.

I know kids are meant to learn how to be bored but during the holidays we inevitably end up taking them places, lots of places. From the movies to the zoo to the aquarium to the water park to mini golf, all those family passes and overpriced snacks can leave us broke. Now that the kids are back at school, we can stick to our regular family budget and enjoy a few sneaky purchases for ourselves.

I can get out of the kitchen…

I don’t know if it’s just my kids but during the holidays, I am incessantly nagged for food. Thirty minutes after eating a full plate of lunch, I’m subject to chants of “Mum, I’m starving”, “Mum, I need a Cheesymite scroll”, “Mum, make me a smoothie, pleeeeease Muuuuum”. Between cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner and preparing a gazillion snacks, I feel like I never get out of the kitchen, which is my least favourite room of the house. By the end of the holidays I am hanging to pack their lunchboxes and send them on their merry way.

…And back to work!

I know a lot of people dread the nine to five but after weeks of dealing with play dates, mess and cafes packed with kids, sitting at your desk surrounded by adults can be therapeutic. On your lunch break you can sneak in some exercise to lose the 5kg you put on over the holidays and by the time you head out the office door, you’re looking forward to the cuddles waiting for you at school pick-up.

Holidays are pretty awesome and I would never give up all that extra time with my kids. At the same time, I love getting back to our regular day-to-day lives. The kids get to learn and hang out with their friends and we can start looking forward to our next holiday adventures.

What's the best thing about the school year starting again? Tell us in the comments section below.

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