I have a shocking confession guys:
I did not want school to start.
Are you horrified? Traumatized? Wondering what on earth is wrong with me?
Or perhaps you have a tiny glimmer of the same feelings? I know I can't be alone here. The honest-to-goodness truth is that I didn't want summer to end this year and I most definitely was not looking forward to school starting either. In fact, three days in, I'm still mourning the loss of my two oldest children.
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I know that not everyone is on board with me, but I'm sharing my anti-school sentiments in the hope that someone out there actually likes being home with their kids in the summer, too—unlike one disgruntled reader who sent me the following piece of "love" mail this week:
"I lost all respect for you with your publishing of your Why Parents Secretly Dread the End of Summer article," she wrote. "Being the parent of two I can say that I look forward to sending them back and can honestly say I do not know any parents that don't do a heiney dance when they go back. You are clearly WHACKED out on merlot or whatever you are drinking these days. Get in touch with your readers."
I like (my kids') company and we have fun together—why is that considered to be so strange?
I get it, I get it, I'm crazy. But I do genuinely do miss my kids when they're at school. I had kids for a reason and I decided to stay home for a reason, so all in all, it actually makes quite a bit of sense in my mind. I like their company and we have fun together—why is that considered to be so strange?
There are a lot of factors why I feel the way I do, like the fact that I'm a work-at-home mom and having all of my kiddos at home is actually helpful to me. They all play so well together and the older two help keep an eye on the younger two, allowing me to do crazy things like go pee or clean up breakfast with two hands.
Or the fact that my husband is a teacher, meaning he gets a few weeks off over the summer with his year-round school calendar, leaving us with plenty of time to go on family adventures or pursue other projects.
And then there's the fact that I'm actually a pretty lazy person. I love the lack of pressure in the summer, when we can stay up late and sleep in, when we can do absolutely nothing without feeling guilty, when I can actually convince someone to watch the baby while I lounge in my mom's pool (a rare feat that happened not once, but twice this summer!)
Now, don't go searching for things I'm not actually saying. Don't accuse me of pointing fingers at parents who lose their minds at home with young kids for not loving their kids just as much as I love mine. That's not what I'm saying at all. I get that we're all different, with different types of temperaments, personalities and particular age sets we enjoy dealing with when it comes to our kids. (Babies: good, teens: unsure just yet).
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We all enjoy parenthood a little differently. I can appreciate the benefits of school and a routine, and maybe someday my feelings on the whole matter will change drastically, but right now I am just missing the heck out of my little people at school.
And I don't think that makes me "whacked out" by any means.
But I will take some of that Merlot if anyone's offering.
