Thoughts For Thursday: I Hate School

Want to know how you can tell my kids have been back in school for awhile? Come into my house and you can see it pretty quickly. No, it isn’t the art projects on the walls- it is my not-so-charming disposition. In the summer, I am fun mom that is up for anything. Once fall comes, I am more drill-sergeant mom, that you could call ‘anything but-fun mom’ at times.

As a mom, I have always hated school. Now that the kids are older, I hate it even more. Why do I hate it you may ask? Well, one reason is it cuts into our fun time as a family. But, another reason is I turn into a raving nagaholic, and it is exhausting. The kids have more homework, their school sports programs are more demanding, and my finely-tuned plans all end up falling apart.

For example, this past week, my kids had numerous tests, plus their sports. They got home later, had to shower and eat, and then finally nestled into homework. Next thing you know, it is 11:00 and I have barely said a word to the kids, unless I was helping with math or something. I feel so disconnected from them at times like this. We actually took the time to sit outside and look at the stars (the minor meteor shower ‘Orionids’ were going on, but only saw a few of them), but that meant they didn’t get to bed until 11:30. Sure it was great to chat with them again, but then I had 3 kids that didn’t want to get up in the morning. My youngest was racing around packing overnight clothes for a birthday party, and of course, he forgot his inhaler. So, I had to go up to the school to drop that off to him. That doesn’t seem like much, but I was in the middle of cleaning my home office, which I have been putting off forever.

The bottom line is, school ruins the flow of our house. I have to constantly nag and remind everyone all the time because they have so much going on- they can’t remember everything perfectly. I am sick of saying “you have to go to bed NOW” (along with “you have to get up NOW”). It feels like we are five people drifting around the house, all having independent lives.

So, now I am tasked with making new rules and being mean because our schedule is totally ruined, and the kids have got to get back on track. It is a roller coaster ride for sure, and it will get easier soon, for a while at least. But, being a parent can be hard when you want to say ‘yeah, just stay up late and lets play a game’! That is my nature, and I have to fight it.

What are your back to school struggles? Or does the transition to school just go smoothly?