Last Updated on 4 September 2024 by Colette
I absolutely love the summer holidays.
I’m so incredibly grateful for the fact that my flexible working set up means that I can take as much time as possible to be with the kids through the summer, squeezing work into quiet afternoons or late evenings. I know that we are in an incredibly privileged position to not have to worry about childcare through the summer. We are also lucky that Dave has a generous amount of leave that we can tap into to enjoy chunks family time together when the kids are off.
I appreciate the opportunities that my website and social media offer us as a family to have experiences and make memories over and above what we might typically be able to afford.
The summer holidays are most definitely my favourite time of the year and I am acutely aware that they are slipping through my fingers.
I had expected that secondary school would be a turning point for us – that Ben would stop wanting to hang out with us, that Chloe would end up spending more time with her friends, that Amy and I would end up on days out on our own. But that hasn’t really happened. Yes there’s been the odd time where Ben has chosen to chill at home rather than coming out for the day but it really is just the odd time, mostly we’ve all hung out together.
But I do know my days are numbered, he’s heading into Y11 – next summer he will likely have a part time job taking up his time, his exams will be done and he’ll be making plans for Sixth Form. Summers won’t be the same.
And whilst I can tell you all this with a grateful heart and happy memories of a summer well spent, I won’t deny I sent them back to school with a sense of relief.
The last few weeks have been hard. I had purposely planned very little knowing we needed time to rest and relax before the return to routine but in reality that breathing space just invited boredom and bickering, it bred frustration and irritation. We had all spent too long in each other’s company and needed a break – it reminded me of exactly why I used to get them all out every day when they were younger. Even in their teens, they are easier to manage out and about.
To make things all the more challenging, Dave has been away for the second half of the holidays – we have barely seen him in three weeks which means the parenting and general household management has felt all the more intense. I am more than ready for a break and to have him home (one more week to go!).
So I’ll be spending the first few days of term taking a bit of time to reset – to get on top of the washing (thank goodness the sun is shining!), to get the house organised, to get to the osteopath to try and relieve the tension in my neck and the excruciating pain that Meralgia Paresthetica is inflicting on me – (this is something that has been niggling for a long time but has got much worse during the course of the summers holidays and is now impacting my daily life quite significantly.)
And then I need to crack on with my work – with updating all my seasonal content for the coming months, with creating some new content – something I don’t seem to have done much of recently. Alongside this I need to rebuild my supply teaching – after working long term for a couple of schools for a number of years and moving to a new agency last year, I feel like I’m starting fresh – the schools in the area don’t know me anymore and I don’t have a reputation within the agency so even though I’m heading into my 13th year on supply – I have to set my stall out and prove myself all over again. I’m hoping to find a better routine with my teaching again this year.
So that’s where we’re at, excited for the new term, for some peace, some normality and to have Dave home again!
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