The View From Here – Back To School

Ah, back to school time is here again.   Kids back IN the classroom.  Excited. Nervous.  Scared. Worried about all kinds of things.  Feeling all the feelings.  For me, all those anxieties are MINE.  Because no matter how old my kids get or how old I AM, back to school time has this ability to transport me back in time to when it was MY turn to go back to school.

What will I wear?  Do I have the right “stuff”?  What if I can’t open my locker?   What if nobody talks to me?   What if none of my friends are in my class?  Where will I sit? Why did I get my hair cut to look like such a dork?

Do you remember those first days of school?  Do you remember sitting in your desk, new to you for the year ahead, and waiting as the teacher handed out supplies?  Because I remember being so excited for the new school supplies. The pencils, the glue, the new notebook.

I loved that feeling of a fresh start. The “newness” of the new year.  Feeling determined.  Feeling excited.

And I don’t know about you, but the weekend before kids go back to school turns me into this “I’m going to get everything cleaned up and organized” machine.  I don’t know why or even if I have the power to stop it.  It just happens and kinda takes over.

I cleaned everything in my house this weekend.   I cleaned the OVEN.   By the way, if you read something online about how easy it is to clean the inside of your oven with a baking soda paste, don’t believe it.  It cleans it a little, but for the heavy duty burnt on foods, nope.  Still there.   Memories of all the baking disasters of the past.

Yesterday I cleaned the silverware draw.  Organized the “junk” drawer.   I cleaned cupboards and closets.  I purged.   I organized.  I pulled out fall clothes and put them at the front of my closet.  I cleaned the TOP of the fridge.   I removed the big stuff that was just adding to the clutter and managed to hide it in other places around the house.

I admit, my kids looked a little worried.   They exchanged the “what’s wrong with mom” look with each other.

Back to school means back to routine, and that gives me this feeling of wanting to be organized.  And before the busyness of the back to school routine kicks into high gear, I want to at least have ONE DAY with a clean house.   That feeling of satisfaction is worth it.  Even if it doesn’t last past Wednesday.

Do you use this time of year as a way of getting back into old habits and routines?  Do you do the same super intense clean and organize the house kinda thing?  Fresh start for a new school year?

I am so happy to see both my girls back in school.   Grade 10 for my youngest.  Excited to be back in the classroom with friends.  And my oldest daughter just started college today.  Gulp.

Maybe my cleaning frenzy is just my way of trying to not think about how quickly my kids are growing up and how soon they might be out of the house.  Folding their laundry and tidying up some stuff helps me hang onto them, and feel like I’m still needed, just a little bit longer.

And helps my brain forget about just how much of a super awkward dork I was all through school.  Shy.  Awkward.  Quiet.   Some things you just can’t grow out of I guess.

(smile)

Reach out anytime – cbuchanan@blackburnradio.com

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan