Back to School
So M went back to school last Thursday, and J went back to preschool on Monday. Time feels like it's flying by-- I can barely believe that my baby is a first grader. Still, it's funny how different reality can be from what everyone tells you. So many people have assured me that life would get easier once my kids are in school, but I guess I'm one of the unusually weird people out there. It's so much easier to have my kids home! Right now, I wake up at 5:30 am so I can get ready and get M up and ready to be on the way to school by 6:50am. It's a 40 minute drive round trip to get her off to school. Then, I make it back home just in time to wake up the other two and drag them out of bed. After trying futilely to cajole them into eating some breakfast, it's time to shuttle J to preschool. Fortunately, J goes to preschool at the YMCA, so I can sneak in a workout when I drop him off.
So here's when the bliss starts, right? Now I have two kids away at school, and only B at home. Sadly, no. I rush home, shower and change quickly, in time to rush back and pick up J from preschool. Then we run a couple errands to save us from having to go all the way home before picking up M. Finally, at 12:30pm we head back to M's school and join the mile-long line of cars waiting to pick up students.
OK, now all the driving is over, so now my break must start, right? Oh, no, here comes homework time. Now you first have to understand, both J and M have homework, and both of them are extremely stubborn. They want to do it their way, or not at all (usually, not at all.) Working with J means tearful sessions with repeated wails of "I can't, I can't!" and either Terence or I patiently trying to convince J that yes, he can write his name. Working with M means grinding your teeth impatiently while she insists that she will do it when she feels like it. And man, that girl is stubborn. She will sit at the table all day, not eating or playing, rather than do a piece of math homework, if it wasn't her idea.
It's exhausting. When is school out again????
So here's when the bliss starts, right? Now I have two kids away at school, and only B at home. Sadly, no. I rush home, shower and change quickly, in time to rush back and pick up J from preschool. Then we run a couple errands to save us from having to go all the way home before picking up M. Finally, at 12:30pm we head back to M's school and join the mile-long line of cars waiting to pick up students.
OK, now all the driving is over, so now my break must start, right? Oh, no, here comes homework time. Now you first have to understand, both J and M have homework, and both of them are extremely stubborn. They want to do it their way, or not at all (usually, not at all.) Working with J means tearful sessions with repeated wails of "I can't, I can't!" and either Terence or I patiently trying to convince J that yes, he can write his name. Working with M means grinding your teeth impatiently while she insists that she will do it when she feels like it. And man, that girl is stubborn. She will sit at the table all day, not eating or playing, rather than do a piece of math homework, if it wasn't her idea.
It's exhausting. When is school out again????
Comments
Oh, Abby-- Marianne goes to a charter school and she's on the shorter "full day" program. It means she skips a lunch and a recess and gets out super early. We chose this schedule so that theoretically, she might actually get to see Terence...I guess I'm glad because he shares in homework duty with me.