There's a feeling, at the end of the summer, an itch that I get. I look forward to "back to school" time, not necessarily because my children are driving me crazy but because it brings back routine and structure. Calvin is going into the 6th grade, junior high. He has four teachers and a lot more homework. I caved this year and told him he could walk to the bus stop. I'm okay with it because he walks with an 8th grader, but what do we do next year? As Calvin attends a private school, he and his lone guardian stand across the street from 10+ public school children...waiting for the bus. Maybe it's the overprotective mother in me or the not-so-fond memories of bullying but I always worry. At the same time, I can only hold his hand for so long. He's 11 years old now and if I expect him to help with chores around the house and to help dress his sister and take out the trash then I believe he's earned the right to some individual freedom. So I go through all the rules (just in case), don't talk to strangers, don't respond to anyone that's harassing you, pay attention to cars and don't mess with any foreign objects. You know, the usual.
Ms. Maisie is starting at an official daycare. We put her in a home daycare for the first couple of years believing that a home setting would be more beneficial and nurturing for her. Now that she's hitting the "wonderful" two's and living in a world of mine, mine, mine, we thought it was time to move her to a more structured environment. Her new school has theme weeks and scheduled snack and nap times. They believe in positive reinforcement and no time outs. I believe I might have chuckled when they told me that. Hey I'm all for positive reinforcement, I'm also for the blue time out chair that sits in our hallway as friendly reminder that if you're not positive that's where you go. Needless to say, our little girl was not to thrilled with this new and unfamiliar place. As I left her hysterically sobbing on the first day I had flashbacks of my own experience in daycare and all I could think of was, "she'll never forgive me". But then I picked her up and the teacher gave me her activity sheets that listed all the music and books and art that they did for the day and I thought, "maybe this is a good place for her". And then...she passed right out at bedtime and even slept through the night and I thought, "hallelujah, why didn't we do this sooner!".
School , to me, means new beginnings and with that we have new challenges. We get into a rhythm at night with dinner and homework and prepping for the next day. Our mornings are timed and everything runs like clockwork (or so it should). Calvin has a white board with a list of items that he needs to do each morning. He showers (shower is on and clothes are waiting in the bathroom), he eats (already set up on the table and waiting), he makes his bed and get his socks and shoes on (which are waiting for him by the front door with his bag and lunch already packed). He has an hour to do all this and we're still working on perfecting it, I'm sure by June we'll have it down. One big hitch is whether or not Maisie wakes up during the process, she tends to be a bit distracting.
Even married mom's sometimes have the job of one. We manage and we are thankful for what we do have which is what's important. Adam works hard as a chef both outside and inside the home. And I usually make sure he gets his own to do list.
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