I have prided myself all summer on how I have not wanted
the kids to go back to school.. Arrogant even of how we have been just one big
happy family and no need for any structure or routine right?
Well
wrong. That minute ended. This week.
You know how newborn babies have that little smell and
feel about them that everyone just wants to get closer and hug them and snuggle
them and caress their cheeks? Well teenagers have a smell about them….that makes you want to run. Far far away.
Ok so I am exagerating a little. When they are held prisoners
and sequestered at the cottage (and when they are not beating each other up.
Screaming at one another, or trying to get away with using their cell phones
when they are not supposed too) they have a lot of angelic moments
(ok..bearable moments).
But this week it was just too much for my brain (to
organize and plan) my arms to drive their friends home at 11pm on a workday) my
stomach (it was always empty because all their friends ate my food) or my
nerves (I have none left)
Am I always at pms and hormonal come Aug 20 and become a
screaming bitch because it is that time of month every year? Or is it because
it is the week before school starts?
Before then I seem to hold it together pretty well. As
much as I love structure I am very very fine with taking breaks from it. I can
buy 30 frozen pizzas on sale and feed an army and have popcorn spilled all over
my floor and not blink and eye .I allow multiple sleepovers and went on a boat
ride with friends (their boat) with 16 others and had 7 kids sleepover (and
have a midnight swim) and actually got up and went to work early the next day!
I am a fun (very very fun when I am not bossing and
nagging) and extremely tolerant mother (unless it comes to health safety, academics,
respect, hygiene etc.etc..etc..)
All that to say something just broke this week…seriously
just an accumulation.Was it the sausage stew that was the last in my freezer that
my now non-existent cleaning lady made and that I did not get a bite of? Was it
the fact that I am quite sure one of the visiting teens kids peed in my pool?
Is it the reading too often of my kids texts and learning of their broken
hearts that is killing mine and wanting to harm the girls who dump my sons? Is
it the KFC (on the floor) that I came home to with 6 boys in my living room
eating it when the house had just been cleaned top to bottom by a cleaning service
(after 7 weeks!)
Maybe it is that I have not been able to go naked in my Jacuzzi
for the last 90 days at midnight? Or the racoons that gives me heart attacks
nighty now and have decided to give birth to their millions of babies under my
porch? Maybe it is the fact that my new cleaning lady takes 4 hrs to fold a sweater
(good job she does however no wrinkles!) Maybe it is the fact that now my husband
no longer drinks vodka martinis in the evenings I can’t vicariously live through
that relaxation and feel a bit “virtually” buzzed too? Could it be that I have
no clue how to roast a chicken? Or that there is so little time in the mornings
now before work that I have knots in my hair all day? Could it be that I have
no floated in my pool on my own for the entire summer?
And the kids seem a bit annoyed too this last week. They
have upped the alienation and ignore us a lot. Less kisses, less hugs, texts
are less friendly and much less frequent. Their tempers are shorter and so are
ours. They fight more and love each other less. Although they are still having the
time of their lives and maximizing this free time-I think we all realize it is
just turning into a little bit of a circus by this point.
I am
starting not to like them.
And what does this all mean my friends????
It
means it is clearly back to the books.
Time for some good old homework and morning alarms. Time
for some regular showers and clothing that matches. Chores after dinner and nutritious
breakfasts in the morning. Missing each other in the day and looking forward to
sharing our events at the end of them. Time to cherish time off and crave it
instead of day after (for the kids anyways) of being the masters of their own
time. Time to throw out the nutella and get a life.
Trust me there are many parts of going back to school
that annoy me (pretty much all of the above plus making lunches, having to go
to bed earlier, having to cook, having to nag. Having to nag. Having to nag)
But…I am smart enough to know that the fun is coming to an end (and god was it
fun except for this week) and to cherish the memories but get back to school
children before I give you all up for adoption.
Monday for the boys and Wednesday for my girl (although
first two days are two hours each!! I mean if by grade 6 your kid still needs and
slow integration there is something wrong)
PS-do you think the 750 school supplies being labelled
and uniforms to be bought, tried on ironed, rooms needing to be cleaned out, bus
passes bought had anything to do with my bad mood and temper this week?
Is that pleasant in 30 degree weather when you have been
cooped up inside at work all day? Doing
this in the evening with two-three friendly racoons in your face? Is it now???
PSS-you do know that by next weekend I will wish summer and chaos back right???
