Why I Can't Wait for My Kids to Go Back to School
After a summer of having all my children underfoot at all times, back-to-school means I finally get to reclaim my sanity (or whatever I have left). This year, my third boy is starting kindergarten which leaves me with just one tot at home full-time. While other moms are sniffling at the bus stop the first day, I'll confess: I wave good-bye with unabandoned glee. "Have fun, sweetie!" I yell but what I really mean is, "Whatever you do, don't get sick so you have to come home early!" Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore my kids but I can't miss them if they're never gone. Right? Right.
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Not all moms share my feelings though. As my sister Laura put it, "Really I'm just trading one busyness for another." She has a point. What time was spent over the summer mediating fights between rabid monkeys (I wish I could say that fecal matter was never thrown) is now dedicated to homework, piano lessons and driving around at 11 p.m. looking for a store that's still open that carries the white glue sticks. Of course Laura is also my sister who is both the PTO president and runs the cub scout pack so I can see why school season is extra busy for her. The closest I've ever been to the PTO was when I volunteered at the annual book sale... once.
So what do I do with all my "free" time? Work-- housework, yardwork, work-work -- the same as I always do but now it's with 50 percent fewer children hanging off my legs while I do it. It's amazing how much I can get done when I'm not interrupted every five minutes to get a peanut-butter smeared waffle out of the toaster. For me, back to school at the very least is a reprieve from the whining, even if I'm still driving forgotten lunches, picking up science fair projects and supervising their homework. I'll take it.
How about you? Do you celebrate when your kids go back to school or is the end of summer bittersweet?
Charlotte Hilton Andersen is a mom of 5 and the author of the book The Great Fitness Experiment: One Year of Trying Everything and the blog of the same name.
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