Tag: school

New Beginnings

For myself and so many of my friends, this was a week of new beginnings… New beginnings for our children – either a new school year, or for some, the brave and vast leap into high school.

These few days are a transition from adrenaline, excitement and nerves into a new routine, and now a touch of overwhelm is beginning to settle in.

I was advised this morning by a kind woman of previous experience to expect this next week to be one of meltdowns – overwhelm and sheer exhaustion will set in for those of our children who are beginning their life in high school.

As I sit and sip on my morning coffee, I muse over these first couple of days. The sky is looking as moody as I feel… Fluffy lighter clouds above, ominous grey and threatening storm clouds on the horizon, with surprising flashes of brilliant blue. If this is how I am feeling, I can only begin to imagine how my almost-teenage daughter must be feeling!

I am taking ten minutes to reflect, gather my emotions and keep them in check so that I may be the rock solid, dependable person my daughter will need for support as she begins this next chapter in the storybook of her life.

How is your sky looking today?

Be Prepared

I’ve learned a valuable lesson this week… I also know it has always been staring me in the face.

As we know, removing a family member from the mix changes the dynamic, and this week I have worked hard to keep our hectic morning rush to school as calm and light-hearted as possible. The results have been great – we’ve arrived on or before time, and the kids have enjoyed a chat with their friends or a game of handball before class.

This morning, one of the children asked me if we could do this every day? I laughed and said “that is entirely up to you!”

Just now, as I muse over my morning coffee, I realise and admit that it is also very much up to me. We are all a team and we all play a part. My part is the trigger for all that follows…

My advice to myself – don’t hit that snooze button, get up and get organised straight away. Make sure I get myself a coffee (or whatever it is that gets you going). Take a moment to draw breath and know where you are at.

I’ve always thought I needed to get the kids up earlier, and that they were always the ones dragging their feet as I madly tried to get them to school on time – but that’s not the case. I have been getting them up later than usual (but not too late) and we have made it to school early every day. The key – as all those amazing parents who are already organised well know – is being prepared.

Not necessarily physically prepared with lunches already done and breakfast laid out. As my friends who know me well enough, will chuckle to themselves because they know that I am never that well prepared, I am simply talking about being mentally prepared for the day. I am talking about being calm and light-hearted within.

With all that being said, let’s hope I can practise what I preach into next week, when I have all the team back together! Stay tuned…