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Back to School Realities

Back to school time is so exciting! After a summer of lazy, routine-less days, extra dishes and extra messes from the little bodies at home all day, it’s time for a fresh start!

You’ve all heard the back-to school tips…Start bedtime 10 minutes earlier every night for 2 weeks to ease your kids into the new schedule! Try cute little bento boxes to pack their lunch – pack them all up on Sunday night so they’re ready for the week! Create an adorable little homework station because that will magically make your kids WANT to do more schoolwork when they get home!

I was going to write a post like that. But here’s the deal: no matter what you do to prepare, back-to-school will probably offer you a few minor challenges…

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First of all, you can try to ease into the new sleep schedule for weeks, but your precious children will still be exhausted and grumpy for at least 2 weeks. Expect plenty of random sleep-deprivation fueled tantrums until the zombie-monsters get so tired that they forget that the sun stays up two hours past bedtime and finally crash and burn.

Second, you know that handy bus schedule you get? It’s wrong. The bus will not be there at 7:13. One day it will arrive at 7:09 and then next it will come at 7:17. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

And that gigantic list of school supplies? With “Ticonderoga” pencils? (Because of course, no other #2 pencils will do. MUST BE TICONDEROGA.) Good luck getting everything on the list in one trip. And good luck keeping track of your preschooler while you try. (Someone should invent a school supply delivery service: type in your school & grade level and they magically send you a box with everything you need. And wine. Wine would also be included. Seems much more relaxing this way.)

Finally, let’s talk about back-to-school clothes. No matter what you buy, your children will either a) grow out of them before they get a chance to wear them more than twice or b) suddenly refuse to wear what they picked out three weeks prior. And either way, you’re screwed.

With that, I wish you all a happy September! Let’s all hope we’ll get a few weeks of sanity in October, before the candy and parties that accompany monthly holidays start up. Heaven help us.

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Would you like to comment?

  1. Thank you. This is exactly my thoughts. Especially the wine!

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  2. There's a few tricks to back to school that I learned after kindergarten. 1. Don't buy new clothes for back to school unless they're clearly needed. Usually shoes were the only new things needed for phys ed. The rest were bought as the Boy grew. 2. Ignore as many of the brand demands of the school list as possible. Seriously. The only thing that I got as a brand was the books required for French verb conjugation (Boy went to French immersion - we live in Canada). Everything else as whatever was least expensive. Why pay for a brand name item? It's going to look like the neighbour's dog ate it anyway.

    I like your wine idea. That makes much more sense than pretty much any other relaxation aid for Moms and Dads in those first trying weeks of school.

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  3. This made me giggle. The wine idea is probably a good idea. :-)

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  4. I think Amazon needs to improve their services to include your back to school service. I'm actually surprised they haven't done that yet!

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