And So, The End is Near (And Other Back To School Happiness)

The last day of school in June was brilliant. It was a gloriously sunny day. I was looking forward to having my kids around me for the summer and I couldn’t wait! We went for lunch and I beamed and I cuddled them all! I had plans! I had activities planned, arts-n-crafts planned, days out, exciting camps with their friends, holidays and trips to the beach, park, and mountains.

It’s been great having them around, comforting really. I am so lucky to be able to not work full time and have to juggle minding hours with camps to get through the summer weeks. I get to be here with them all summer. And it has been an adventure! We are a close family and I love that I can be around them as they grow.

But BY GOD, I’m falling back into School Days with Open Arms.

Is it a case that we’ve been around each other now too much, that we basically need a break from each other like normal human beings? Or is it that the boredom is setting in for the kiddos and the fact that 10 minutes ago my kitchen resembled a swimming pool?

Cause I asked for help watering the plants?

Note: Never ask for help watering the plants, this is Kid Code for turning the kitchen into a swimming pool.

Things I’m looking forward to:

1. Having a cup of tea. Not gulping a cup of tea over the sink.
2. Shopping. I mean actual non-online-browsing-in-a-supermarket kind without having to avoid tantrums with bribes, rude stares, or being pulled by nails out of the wine aisle.
3. Silence. I forget what that is. I just want a little quiet time. With 3 kids there is no quiet time. Throw in coffee with a friend and I’m yours baby.
4. Eating chocolate like a normal person and not with my head behind a book or door to avoid “sharing”.
5. Watching an episode of Eastenders without having to pause it to a) scream upstairs Get To Bed, b) Threaten to remove Wifi if they don’t Get To Bed c) Denying drinks or snacks — Get To Bed, d) Helping with a trip to the toilet e) Losing the plot cause its still bright and they’re SILL UP!! GET TO BED!!
6. Getting my hair done. Who has 3 hours to spare during the summer? I’ll have the straw removed please and a curly bob. With highlights, thanks.
7. Going to the bank without having a heart attack. Well not until I see the actual bank balance. Which leads me on to..
8. Having my money back! Summer is SO EXPENSIVE! It’s a 9 week money haemorrhage.
9. Exercise. I genuinely haven’t had the energy to go for a work out. I fall into bed at night and dream of the energy I used to have before the summer.
10. No more decisions. What are we doing today? What are we having for lunch/snacks/dinner? I just can’t wait until it’s someone else’s problem.

It sometimes feels like I claw my way from June to September. It’s a constant round of things to do and see and eat. Its permanently on repeat.

Mums work 24/7…and then there’s the 24/7 work we have to do during the summer. Its already a full-time game and it moves up a gear for those few weeks. Not least cause we need to get everything organised for when they do go back to school but for all the things we need to do to keep them going. The real break will happen sometime around 11am on the first day back at school. The shoulders will come down a little and that feeling that a welcome routine is here again.

And the hilarious thing is that, for all that work and slime and dirt and mess and pressure to do stuff and go places and spend money and come up with more ideas, I’ll still miss them when they’re gone! I will miss them! Get that! I’m never happy! I’ll be hugging and smelling their hair when they get out of school! I’ll be listening to all the excitement of their new teachers and friends. And it’s just that. For all that I give out and for all that is hard, at the end of the day is a bunch of amazing kids that I totally adore from the inside out.

I enjoy back to school time but on the flip side, sure, its only another 10 months to next summer.