Dragonwing Blog
Back to School--A Parent's Perspective
Following on Emma's post about returning to school, I thought I'd write about "Back to School" from one parent's perspective. My absolute favorite thing about summer is no homework. Zilch, nada, zero. Summer evenings are less tense because we are out of the "get your homework done, eat dinner, go to swim practice, shower, go to bed" frenzy. On the other hand, the kids were binging on Netflix and made it to the seventh season of Supernatural. I am not proud of that. I LOVE back to school shopping--all that promise with clean binders, new pens, folders, and the promise of a new school year. Everything is bright and new, and as Emma said, the kids seem genuinely glad to see their friends for the first few days. A few months later, extraneous papers will trail out of my son's binder and he will have lost several assignments, never to be found. And as much as I love a lazy week, I'm also glad we're back on some sort of routine though waking up is a bit tough. By 10 am I'm ready for lunch. However, never underestimate the power of a good power nap. This year Anna has "Emotional Health," which I believe is a form of meditation often leading to a midday snooze. And now that we're back in a routine, my job search is kicking into high gear. My previous freelance gig terminated in July, so it's now time for me to hit the ground running, resume in hand. In summary, I have mixed feelings about back to school. I'm glad the kids have structure to their day, and they are being challenged by their teachers. I don't like being the "homework police" so I'm trying to get out of that job and let my son bear the consequences. We'll all get used to the early mornings and if not, Labor Day is just around the corner!
I can't, I have soccer
I'm busy. Like really busy. So busy that I don't know what to do with myself when I don't have anything to do on a school night.
Since 5th grade I have had to balance homework and at least one activity almost every school night. Earlier on in high school, I would go to school each day, leave from school and go straight to soccer practice, come home from soccer and work on my homework, and go to bed, wake up and do it all over again. I typically had one night off from soccer each week, and that was strictly devoted to homework and sleep. On Friday afternoons, I would leave for the weekend to take a bus trip to another state for two games. Getting ahead (or catching up!) was key.
Now, I have two jobs, a senior level amount of homework, college apps, numerous clubs to keep track of, on top of sleeping, and making time with friends. But it all gets done, and I haven't gone crazy, at least not yet.
I've seen this picture over and over on Twitter...and I disagree! You can even make this a square by adding SPORTS to this and there's a way to reach all four corners. It's difficult, and can be exhausting, but there's always a way to manage.
Knowing what you want to do, and what's most important to you is the key. I always put school at the top of my triangle, so no matter what, my school work gets done. Sleep typically comes second, although sometimes it comes behind my sports.
As for a social life, yes, it's true, I've missed school dances and other school events during the week. And the "I can't, I have soccer" has made it out of my mouth more than a few times, but I still believe in my social life. We're with our friends all day at school! And a soccer game at 3:00 on Saturday doesn't mean the whole night is gone (although it might feel that way sometimes). Not to mention teammates can also be good friends.
Being so busy, I've grown to worship my agenda! Prioritizing my work, taking advantage of free time and getting ahead when I can, keeps me sane. I'm a girl who can not function on less than 7 hours of sleep. 11PM is my maximum bedtime on school nights. I make a habit of writing down EVERYTHING I have to do, and it feels that much better when I get to cross each event off. You can always make it through another day no matter what your schedule looks like.
Leave a comment below with your biggest challenge or best tip for maintaining your balance.