‘Balance’

We’re four days into the new school year. One week in, already I’m feeling the pull and stretch of everyone and everything that needs my attention and feeling hyper focused on not dropping any of the balls im juggling. We’re back to early starts, lunchbox packing, racing out of work in the afternoon, sorting out dinner in that sweet spot of not too early but not so late that they start getting grumpy. Back to weekends being a compromise of all of the things that need to be done to maintain the house, a bit of fun and relaxing together while still being social amongst our friends and family. 

I should preface this by saying I’m also coming out the other side of a dragged on cold and very broken, interrupted, cut short sleep all week long. So I’m tired, emotional and an extra version of exhausted. It’s probably not the best starting point for getting back into the swing of things.

This year we’ve decided to limit the amount of outside school hours care our children have, we see how much it exhausts them and impacts their mood and therefore the dynamic of the whole house each day. It also means a bit of money saving, always a plus, and a lot more focus on quality and us being available to them. But that also means we are doing a lot of running around to accommodate it. It means some later starts for Chris and my running into and out of work in that delicate balance of doing all that needs to be done there while still making it to school pick up before the bell. It means finding the best last minute parking spot close enough to school so I can unload the double pram, load up the girls and get in there on time. 

Then it’s home for snacks and school bag unpacking and a load of washing and dinner prep and an afternoon cup of tea to push me over the line before the night time stuff starts.  

We’ll settle into all of this soon enough, it’s the reentry into the school year that’s a bit rough and rocky. Being as available for the kiddies as we can be is the priority for at least this first semester. Past experience has taught us that term one is especially exhausting for them - especially with our little budbud starting prep it’s even more so. Five out of six of us settled in at home by 3pm every single day is absolutely worth the juggling, giving these school kids time to unwind, to rest if they’ve had a big day, to have me on hand for homework, to play wth their siblings, to explore in the backyard.

We’ll find our feet soon enough.