Last Updated on 24 August 2023 by Colette
It has become something of a tradition that the first thing I do, when I’ve dropped the kids back off at school in September, is come home and write in peace – I usually write about how our summer went or about the new changes the September will bring but I’m not sure where I’m going to go with it today, so I guess I’ll just start and see what comes out…
I think this might be the least ‘back to school’ I’ve ever felt. Perhaps it’s because the summer holidays have felt so short this year (the girls only had 5.5 weeks), perhaps it’s because I feel so cheated by the continuous grey weather we’ve had, maybe it’s because Ben isn’t back to school till next Wednesday or it could just be because I’m not going straight back into school myself at the moment. I suppose it’s probably a mixture of them all but I’m definitely not “feeling” September yet.
This September feels strange in that, after a year of teaching very regularly in my favourite school, I’m not currently teaching at all. I’m definitely going to miss everyone I’ve been working with this last year – I don’t think I really realised how much I’d missed belonging to a team and having a regular class. However, I never really wanted to teach as much as I ended up doing last year – it was a temporary “till Christmas” thing which ended up lasting the whole school year and it definitely knocked my balance. Whilst it provided me with the routine and support I didn’t even know I needed (and some welcome financial security) I am looking forward to some breathing space this month – some time to regain a little of that balance and autonomy that my typical flexible working offers. Time to work on my blog again and time to be on my own in the house (though this will never be quite how it was as Dave is working from home for about 60% of the time now). I think it’s going to take a little while to get used to having this time back!
The start of the new school year sees me gain some time back on school runs – quite a bit of time in fact. With the return to a normal school day rather than staggered start times that saw me hanging around for half an hour between drop offs, and the fact that both girls are actually now on the same site so start and finish at the same time (and in fact later than they have been doing) I’ll gain around an hour a day I think.
I’m actually really looking forward to doing the school run again this year – I missed it last year when I was in school myself so only got to do a couple of pick ups or drop offs a week. And then, with everything being staggered, there was little chance to have a catch up with other mums (and dads – I haven’t forgotten you David!). Working from home has always meant that the school run was my only bit of adult contact during the day – though of course Dave is now home much of the time so I don’t suppose it will feel so lonely! The school runs have always felt quite precious to me as I never imagined being able to do them – I always thought I’d teach full time and never be able to take my own children to school. As it is, I’ve actually been teaching on a part time basis for nine years now – something I’ll always be grateful for.
Both girls were up and ready super early this morning (unlike Ben who actually stayed in bed till gone 8am – something which is still quite unusual for him!) Whilst they were really excited to go back to school and see all their friends, they were both little nervous too. Chloe, I think, is conscious of the weight of responsibility that comes with being in Year 6 (and also very aware that she will be leaving at the end of this academic year) and Amy is nervous about being in the juniors as its a whole new school building for her and staff she doesn’t really know (for some reason she was especially concerned about where the toilets were!) As soon as we were in the playground though, they were just so excited to see everyone that they ran into school happily.
I always used to feel really emotional on the first day of school in September – I think this might be the first time I haven’t been a bit teary eyed. Perhaps that ties into the “not really feeling September” thing, or maybe it’s just that I’ve done it so many times now I’m basically made of stone?!
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