In about two weeks, the kids will be back to school. It’s not like I have some countdown going (OK, I do) but the thought of August 31 being here sooner rather than later has me a bit excited.
The pencils are sharpened, the school supplies are packed in the backpack, and the lunchbox is sitting on the counter waiting to be packed. We are ready!
Don’t get me wrong, I love my children dearly– but it is time to go back to school. Why, you ask?
1. The routine. Our routine flew out the window as soon as that final bell rang in June. I tried to implement some kind of schedule this summer but it just didn’t work (and if you could see my house you would see how true that is). During the school year, we have a great routine: wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and out the door. After a week or two, we will settle into this routine quite nicely and all will be right with the world.
2. The quiet.When you are a work-at-home parent, those quiet hours during the day are very precious. They are the most productive hours during the day. I can actually focus on what I’m doing instead of dodging Nerf darts and breaking up fights. You know what else that means? It means when the kids get home after school, I can fully focus on them and not have to be worried about making deadlines.
3. Hot coffee.Need I say more?
4. Shopping alone.That kind of shopping is the holy grail of parenting, isn’t it? Is there anything better than strolling aisles of Target without someone asking you to swing by the toy aisle or hearing the words “Can I get a new pack of Pokémon cards?” Double points if your Target has a Starbucks.
5. I can pack away the bathing suits. When you live in a development with a swimming pool, you are asked at least 845 times a day “Can we go to the pool?!” If you don’t say yes, you feel like a rotten mother for not taking them to the pool. If you say yes, it means you have to wrestle with your bathing suit and drag yourself down to the pool. This is what I’d call a lose, lose situation.
6. The return of “personal space.” Do not get me wrong. I love the hugs and cuddles that my 4-year-old still gives me, but there is such a thing as too much. I long for the days that I can sit on the couch and not have a child sit right on top of me.
7. I’ll miss them.When you are with your children 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you don’t have the chance to actually miss them. You need them to be away for a little bit so that you just can’t wait for them to return to you. At that point, you will be craving those cuddles and hugs.
