Back to School! Back to You!

I wrote a piece a while back when my baby girl was starting grade 1. Grade 1 was super awesome! For her and for me. This year she is starting Grade 3. Wowzers. And my big boys are starting Grade 5. That one keeps throwing me for a loop. I remember Grade 5. Well, sort of. It was a reaaaaaally long time ago.

My point is that my kids are getting older and wiser and we’re all learning new things! I feel the need to emphasize here that I am quite an introverted type person. I require quiet time to live a peaceful and productive existence. And I live with several very less-introvert type persons. And let’s say one wildly extroverted type person.

That means the type of person who must interact with others EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY.
ALL SUMMER. AND EVERY OTHER DAY. And while I truly love summer with all it’s glorious sunshine and heat and wildness and adventure, and so forth, it also means that my kids are up in my grill pretty much 24/7.  And boy do we get on each other’s nerves!

September is a big shift for kids and parents, here are some of my fave plans for getting back to business:

Re-group with my peeps!

Love this one. We all spend a great deal of time and energy making sure our little Nutters get time with their friends and have healthy, fun activities. Somehow with all that running around I haven’t seen my own lovely friends in weeks! Just like the kids who are excited to see each other after weeks away, I can’t wait to catch up with my GROWN UPS. And we won’t talk about video games or ask each other 79 thousand times, What we are doing today MOM????

And speaking of healthy/fun activities, I enjoy learning too!  While the minors are off expanding their brains (whether they like it or not), I look for ways to grow my grey matter too.  Not that shopping for new kinds of jello my kids won’t complain about isn’t brainy business, but we can all use some expansion.

This past year I volunteered for some awesome local events.  I met fun people! I did new (but not hard) things! I got free stuff and was invited to volunteer parties!  And everyone at home survived while I was away! Turns out every single person in this house can make toast.

And finally, try to ease into it! This is the advice I give myself. Moms get a lot of pressure to start every school year with a big bang. It’s a tough time for some of our Niblets too. But nothing has to be perfect. Tell yourself that. And then again. Ignore any grumpy faces at the breakfast table while you blast a little JLo from your iPod.

Don’t sign up for every event or bash in the first 2 weeks. Unless you can’t wait to sign up and attend every event in the first 2 weeks! Sure I will husk and clean and cook 14 dozen cobs of corn for that Corn Bust!

kids lunch box (via)

Include a couple extra treats in their lunch if it makes everyone happier! Nut Free, of course! Or get them that gross canned spaghetti you never buy but the kids always beg for. Instead of leftovers from the organic, gluten free dinner you lovingly made!

imagine never needing this paper organizer (via)

And my top tip, throw away any and all FORMS. This includes school forms in triplicate and any other forms you find wildly tedious and repetitive!

Just kidding.

Maybe.

Happy September Parents!

 

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