Things I thank myself for doing as the school year gets underway…
NOTHING EXTRA. I schedule nothing extra for the evenings of the first week of school, and very little for the weekend after it starts. My kids need good food, a listening ear, extra love, to just BE HOME, and early bedtimes or a mindless hour of TV.
NOTHING EXTRA, PART TWO. No extra appointments in September. No routine doctors, no routine dentists, no haircuts, no oil changes. September already has enough ‘extra’ details and obligations.
TWO WEEKS OF GRACE. It takes us two full weeks to transition into any new schedule. When I get frustrated or overwhelmed, I remind myself that we’re still getting the hang of things.
DINNER DELIVERED. Whether take-out, pizza delivery, or a visit from Grandma, I intentionally plan a few meals to be courtesy of someone else the first two weeks. Anyone can cook. Mom’s hands are best used handling other things that only Mom can handle.
CA$H $TA$H. I go to the bank to get a pile of one dollar bills and a pile of fives. This means I am ready to attend sporting events and send my kid to the concession stand for weeks to come. I can turn in the order form for school photos / the field trip / the team t-shirt immediately. I can hit the carwash and the coffee house. Done and done.
VENDING READY. I turn my fridge, freezer, and pantry into ready-to-go vending machines. There are dozens of options pre-packaged in single serve bags and containers. Packing lunches, grabbing after-school snacks, eating in the car on the way to practice is a piece of cake. Fruit, veggies, pasta salad, hummus and pretzels, meat sticks, individually wrapped muffins, squeeze yogurt, string cheese…
HOUSE HELP. Once the kids are out the door, I like to refresh the house from all our summer fun. This goes way faster and is more fun with a girlfriend or a cleaning lady.
REMEMBER ME? I keep a list of things that come to mind of ways to take care of ME in the midst of taking care of everyone else. This can be adding my favorite lunch foods to the grocery list, scheduling a pedicure, going to the library, or cleaning my closet. Whatever fills me up.
TRAIN THE BRAIN. I have a collection of specific works I reread this time of year (some with my kids) to train our brains. There is a piece on KINDNESS from “For the Love” by Jen Hatmaker. The book of Proverbs from the Bible. Steve Jobs’ commencement speech from 2005. Top Tips for Test Taking. And a list of “Teen Commandments” from my grandparents’ office. These works bring some key things into focus to keep in mind as we kick off each school year.
THIS IS ME. I walk my kids through writing a statement of affirmation about who they are, what they believe in, how to they behave, and what they are striving for. We post this list on their bathroom mirror so they see and read it every day. It proves to be a place for us to later on check behavior against the standards THEY SET for themselves each year
