Transition

The last day of school is here. We're getting out a lot later than other schools, and the kids have been chomping at the bit. But it's here, and as usual, I have mixed feelings about it.

On the one hand (the good things):
  • no more making sure the kids are up. The big boys have done a wonderful job of getting themselves up early every morning so I never worried about them, but Hayley was a bit of a layabout and sometimes Matt had to be muscled out of bed.
  • no more big school projects to worry about. No more last-minute requests for posterboard, money, paints, craft items, or special snacks that caught me off guard.
  • no more homework to distract the children from helping with the housework/meal preparation :)
  • no more paper piling up on my kitchen counters--no more health forms, permission slips, lunch menus, advertisements for after-school classes, letters regarding sports, etc
  • time is now mine to do fun things with the kids (if I don't babysit that day--next week I'm totally off babysitting and I plan to take kids to a movie, to the science museum, to miniature golf, to whatever else I can pack in that one week of freedom)
  • I can exercise right when I get up instead of waiting for Matt to be off to school to go on a walk. Not that he needs to have me there, but I always have to make sure he did everything he was supposed to before he left.
On the other hand (the not-so-good things):
  • no more quiet.
  • I will feel compelled to nag about the daily chores
  • intersibling squabbling will increase dramatically
  • I can't seem to get my own assignments done when there are people around
  • I'll still have to babysit, which means all kids/all the time.
And so I sit here, watching the clock with a mixture of fear and relief, waiting for Jimmy to morph into a senior, and Paul to a sophomore, Hayley to a seventh grader, and Matt to a fifth-grader.

Comments

TaterBean said…
Take me with you on your week of fun!! :( i miss bein home!
Jen said…
I have mixed feelings, too, about the girls being out of school. It will be a nice break to not have to get those kiddos ready each morning and Annie out to the bus on time after making sure she's got everything needed for the day. However, I gave birth to 2 energizer bunnies who keep going and going and going and are constantly in need of activity and attention. Annie has formed this wonderful habit of asking me for the day's agenda, "What are we doing after that?" She insists on having something going on from the time she wakes up until bedtime. It shouldn't come as a surprise though since Mike is exactly like the same way. Neither one of them can grasp the concept of just hanging out. Ugh!
Stephanie said…
I'm making up a weekly schedule to try to create some kind of summer strategy. But that's just to help me quench the panic.