When I was a child, going back to school was fun. But now I’m an adult, and a mom of two school-aged children, and I finally get what back to school means for parents.
As a kid I got new clothes, I got new shoes, and I was excited to find out my new teacher. Finding out which friends were in my class was life-changing.
Later as an adult and once I had babies, for the life of me I could never figure out why my girlfriends were always so swamped. I frequently heard, “one day you’ll understand when your kids are in school.”
Ahhhhhaaaa – Now I get it.
It’s what back to school means for parents.
Back to school isn’t just about the fun stuff like getting kids backpacks and clothes. There are multiple forms and all kinds of emails to set them up for school. Then there’s sports, and after-school care if needed. Kids also require carpools, lunch programs, sign-up lists for supplies, donations, back-to-school night, and the millions of other ancillary tasks that need to be juggled as soon as the first school bell rings.
It’s also about all the homework to cram into a tight schedule, play time, creating meaningful dialogue to engage my children, monitoring what they had to eat for that balanced diet, the right bedtime for their age, and of course all the while teaching them to be kind tiny humans to everyone.
Holy smokes.
And I’m a working mom, so back to school means parents juggle those random days off.
All of those other people I work with? A lot of them fight the same battle. So we’re all juggling schedules, phone calls, drop-offs, and pick-ups. (Please, please follow the directions for the drop-off/pick up line).
Today alone I had one child at a sport at the wrong time. During pick-up of said sport, I realized I had to be in two different places at once. {Insert frantic scramble}. Why? Because I missed an email.
Please send homing pigeons to get my attention.
I honestly can’t believe how I remember anything for each child, let alone my own schedule, and let’s be honest, my husband’s too.
Remembering the family’s schedules, creating new tasks and lists is what back to school means for parents.
Most of this craziness is out of my control, and the routine will settle in by October. I do my best with what I have available in my God-given 24 hours, and I forget the rest. Sometimes that means that LEGO pieces live on my floor for a few days. Laundry may not be put away.
But come what may, I’m going to hug my babies while they’re still here, under my roof and creating this chaos in my life. Someday life will be quiet. I’ll miss all of those emails.
