Mom Is Teaching

Yesterday was unusally silent around my neighborhood. At first I didn’t notice it too much. The temps here have been in the triple didgets so the days have been absent the sounds of screaming kids. But even the early morning was still outside. Then it hit. From 3:30 until 4:00 the street outside was buzzing as kids of all ages walked from the bus stop to their homes, chattering and laughing and comparing details. That’s when it hit me: school is back in session.

Even though I’m not sending my kids off with the rest to school each day there is still something calming about this time of year. Knowing that I can go places without meeting the crowds of families brings a smile to my face. I can go to the store and be greeted with adult cashiers, many of whom have kids of their own and don’t wrinkle their noses at mine. I can sit in my own backyard without being interupted every five minutes by the boys across the street. It’s the little things. And I’m not saying that I dislike kids in public schools, it’s just that there are more of them than there are homeschoolers. So the amount of kids that I have to come in contact with constantly decreases by about 75%. You may call it anti-social, I call it less reason to need an asprin just to get errands done.

So in honor of school starting again here I’m sharing 13 things that I can do now that school is back in session.

1. Go to the park. There is a definite advantage of going to the park during school hours. Instead of dealing with 20 kids, many of whom are much older than my boys, we can relax and play with the 4 or 5 other kids playing.
2. I can grocery shop in peace. The stores are less crowded and I an enjoy an entire shopping trip without hearing kids have fits, except for my own kids of course. But I’m used to theirs by now.
3. I can go out in my backyard in my bathing suit. We live right on the corner and have no fence. And right across the way is a house full of teenage boys. Trust me, it’s better that they don’t have to face my varicose veins and cellulite, both for their sanity and my self-esteem.
4. I can relax again knowing that the only cuss words my kids will hear are the ones I yell when I drop something on my foot. After my oldest taught me and his grandmother the colorful launguage he learned playing kickball with an older girl from a couple houses down I’m ready to pause those lessons. at least until he’s old enough to know not to say that in front of the adults.
5. I can go to an afternoon movie. There is nothing better than getting to see a movie at 3 in the afternoon in a mostly empty theater. No crowds, no noise, no interuptions. It’s great.
6. We can go to the library in relative peace. No more packs of kids to maneuver through down the shelves and there’s always room to sit down and enjoy a good book.
7. We can once again go out for a walk in the cool morning and just enjoy taking in the world. It’s hard to pay attention to nature when there are screaming kids running and playing all around. I missed my tranquil walks.
8. I can get my sweet tooth in gear. Oh yes, now that school is back in the kids in band will be coming by soon to sell me all kinds of chocolates and candies. I’m waiting with bated breath.
9. Now that school is back in we can make doctor’s appointments and get in rather smoothly. No more waiting in crowded rooms with a dozen other sick kids. It’s usually us and one or two other kids, both of whom are too sick to come over and spread germs.
10. The same with dentist apointments, eye doctor apointments, and most any other visit that kids might need. Tuesday afternoon becomes so quiet when everyone is in school.
11. If we want to go out for lunch I can predict when to go. If we’re in the mood to run out for lunch, or even for an after lunch treat, I know when the high school lets out for lunch. So I know when to go to beat the rush of teenagers trying to get food and get back. I like knowing whether or not to chance going out to eat.
12. We can go back to the local duck pond without the added site of teenage girls nearly naked and the boys trying to pick them up. I imagine going top a beach would be a lot worse though.
13. I can go shopping. While not exactly caused by the kids themselves, back to school time also means sales time. Who doesn’t love boxes of crayons for pennies?

school, back to school, kids, fun. Thursday Thirteen