The Back to School Blues

Summer is drawing to a close. As the temperature cools and the days slowly shorten, my kids are getting excited and anxious about the impending start of a new school year. I love summer because it gives us a chance to slow down and enjoy each other. Over the summer we have no music lessons, no dance recitals, no after school activities and no homework. Best of all, summer is a break from the detestable business of packing lunches. I don't know why, but for me, packing those little brown bags every night is one of the hardest things about the school year.

Some of my kids are ecstatic about their upcoming new year. Others are nervous. Similarly, the back to school season always holds a mix of emotions for me. It's not as simple as either loving it or hating it. I have loved having my kids home for the summer, without the rigid schedules and homework battles of the school year. But, lately, everyone seems to be getting tired of each other. Maybe our house isn't big enough to hold so many personalities together. Maybe the kids are nervous and taking it out on their siblings. Whatever the reason, it's a fact that the number of screaming fights breaking out among my little minions increases exponentially as the start date for school approaches.

To articulate the range of emotions we're all experiencing this time of year, I've created a list of pros and cons. Because one can never have too many lists.

 Back to School Pros and Cons

Pro

The noise level in our home will return to a decent level for the first time in ten weeks.

Con

As the kids swap their flip flops for gym shoes, I will have to start washing and matching socks again. Bleh!

Pro

With the decrease in noise, I might actually be able to string two sentences together without losing my train of thought or... ummm... what was I saying?

Con

Back to school means winter is coming and I am not ready to start paying for heating oil yet.

Pro

My twelve-year old will no longer be bored!!!!!!!! Apparently, once mom and dad stop being cool, kids don't like going more than a day or two without seeing their friends. A whole summer is unbearable.

Con

The rat race begins. Piano lessons, dance class, gymnastics, math team, scouts, homework and time to be a kid must all be crammed into the two hours between getting home from school and dinnertime.

Pro

Back to school means Fall. Which is my favorite time of year.

Con

With the kids in school all day, I'll have to get more creative at finding moments to bond with them.

Being at peace with the whole back to school thing comes down to celebrating the milestone this time of year represents for each of my kids. They have grown and matured right before my eyes. They've become closer as siblings, through playing as well as fighting. And though I will celebrate making it through another summer with my mental faculties in tact, it's been my privilege to watch it all happen in slow motion to the deafening soundtrack of childhood joy.