Back to School – My Favorite Time of Year

September 1, 2015

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For some of us September doesn’t make too much of a difference, but to Stay/Work at Home Parents it means a whole lot more! We are of course talking about our kids going back to school.

Here is how my day started:

I woke up this morning and it was chaos. The kids were running around, like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to make sure they had everything they needed for their first day of school. I just wanted to pull my hair out and find somewhere to hide from all of it, but, I knew that just around the corner, goodness was coming. So I got up and ready. Why you ask? We always take our kids to school on the first day of school every year. It’s kind of like a tradition. I helped my 6 year old make sure he was ready for his first day of first grade, and in no time we were off!

Now I don’t want to get sappy, but it is a little hard to see your kids grow up so fast. I now have two beautiful young ladies in High School, and my little guy is now in first grade! The time certainly does fly by.

OK – now back to my story. LOL.

We got to the high school, where I said ‘I love you, have a great day!’ as I dropped my teenagers off, and then we headed to the grade school. We then took my 6 year old son in to his school, where he was excited to go (yet he still loves spending time at home with mom & dad, and said he’d miss us), to meet his teacher, find his desk, and to finally hug, kiss him, and tell him to have a great day.

This is where a huge change begins!

Here is a quick list of things I have noticed and love about ‘Back to School’:

EATING OUT: We decided to go to McDonald’s quick to get some fast breakfast. The bill was under $10! Holy crap!!! I was so used to spending $20-$25 anytime we went with the kids to get fast food, that I had forgotten that this was a perk of them being ‘Back to School’.
PEACE AND QUIET: We got home and it really didn’t hit me at first. I started some laundry, changed the kitty litter, and sat down on a chair with my laptop. I started reading emails when it all of the sudden hit me! It’s completely quiet! No teenagers fighting, no loud music or video games, nothing but peace and quiet! This is amazing!!!!!!
NO MESSES: As I look around, to my surprise, their are no real messes anywhere! A couple cereal bowls in the sink, and a few peaces of clothing, but other than that, the house isn’t a disaster! When the kids are at school the house stays a whole lot cleaner and picked up!
NO INTERRUPTIONS: Along with being a musician, I build and run websites for a living. During the summer, it gets harder and harder as time goes on to get anything done. The kids are constantly wanting to do things and interrupting me. By the end of the summer, my office is very unorganized and I am left feeling uneasy like I didn’t get any work done at all. But that all changes now! Now that the kids are ‘Back to School’, I can get my office organized, and actually schedule my work to get done with little to no interruptions. Besides work, it also gives us a chance to catch up on watching (or even binge watching 🙂 ) the shows we may have missed or could watch because our kids are constantly interrupting us!
FOOD & SNACKS: My kids are constantly eating and drinking everything in the house during the summer. We can never buy anything for ourselves, because the little shits are always taking them! When the kids go ‘Back to School’ we can actually buy and consume the things we want or love without them disappearing (as much :).
PRIVATE TIME: This is that private time you need either with your spouse or just to keep yourself sane! When the kids are ‘Back to School’ you can take any part of your day and make it count!

I am in no way saying we don’t love our children or cherish our time with them. I am simple saying that after a whole summer with them, it is finally our time when they are ‘Back to School’! It is time to breathe, and actually live our lives. – That is why it’s my favorite time of year!