I realize that most of you have kids that are younger than mine, but it’s probably a safe bet that you also have school age children. Here’s what I think we have in common right now – your kids (and mine) have hit the Mid-Fall Brick Wall.
Here in our house, I’m dealing with a high school daughter. At the beginning of the school year she was (surprisingly) excited to go back to school. She said she missed being on a regular schedule and was anxious to get back and see her friends. She decorated her binders and made her annual vow to make the honor roll. Like all good things, I knew this wouldn’t last.
She’s into the performing arts and had committed to be in her school musical and two school choirs. Pretty quickly, rehearsals started happening fast and furious. And, because it’s high school, the homework increased too. Then, one of several bouts with the common cold started. The icing on the cake was the drop in temperatures and the onset of dark evenings.
Pretty soon, I think it was mid-October, I had to scrape her daily motivation and energy off the floor. Mornings started becoming a battle of wills and a struggle for both of us. A simple request of: “Mom, would you mind waking me up tomorrow morning?” soon turned into me begging, cajoling and bribing with a morning hot chocolate laced with a shot of coffee.
You think the Terrible Twos are bad? Try the Surly Sixteens. They’re not for the faint of heart.
I’m not sure what I expected motherhood to be like, but this is just another on a long list of things that I’m glad nobody warned me about. If I had known that my days would revolve around a mercurial adolescent, perhaps I would have chosen pets?
Right now, the school burnout level is at an all-time high. I’m getting information on a need-to-know basis (barely), the tension level is all over the place and my maternal mojo is way out of whack. I long for those days when a hug and a juice box would fix everything.
How about you? Are your kids losing their beginning of the school year excitement and enthusiasm? Is everyone getting a little cranky at this time of the year?
