When school got out a few months ago, I wrote a Work-at-Home Mom’s Love/Hate Relationship with Summer. It seemed only fitting to balance that out with one about going back to school, here on the first day of school for kids in Wilkes County.
Of course, as I said before, I think hate is a very strong word. Instead, here’s what I dread about the school year:
- The morning rush, where most of my time is spent trying to light a fire under a boy who does not want to go to school.
- The evening rush, where homework, practicing the piano, fixing dinner and taking showers are all crammed into just a couple of hours.
- Making lunches.
- Less time for free play. This doesn’t affect me personally, but both of my kids love to just play. Whether it’s outside, making forts and exploring the woods, or inside, building cities with Legos and creating dollhouse families, the time for all of that imaginative play is dramatically decreased thanks to long school days and homework. Thank goodness for weekends!
What I love about the school year:
A quiet house with long, uninterrupted stretches of time.
Yep. Time to work. In quiet. Time to go to necessary meetings, interviews and research-oriented trips without worrying about finding a sitter. Time to run errands, without kids. (It’s amazing how much faster I can get in and out of the grocery store!)
For all of you work-at-home moms who are new to this, juggling work around a baby’s sleep schedule and handling conference calls with a toddler on your lap, I’ve been there. It’s a blessing to be able to continue to work while still getting to be at home with your kids, or at least mostly at home. But believe me, once they start school, it’s like making it to the Promised Land!
