Limping to the end of the school year - East Idaho News
Education

Limping to the end of the school year

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At the end of the school year, I am always struck by how far I have fallen from the gusto of the first day of school.

I am some kind of Super Mom at the beginning of the school year. I volunteer for every class assistance opportunity. I’m signing papers left and right; packing healthy, creative lunches involving fruit kabobs and love notes; and checking off daily goals like it’s going out of style. I’m an unstoppable force of mothering ability. Stand in awe, mere mortals, at the organization and multi-tasking of me, Back-to-School Super Mom!

Then, November hits. Say hello to Midyear Mediocre Mom. I sign some of the papers. I pack only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and I make it into my daughter’s school occasionally.

Fast-forward a few months to May, and I haven’t signed a weekly folder in months, school-bought lunch is as good as it gets and I consider it a banner day if my daughter wears matching socks to school. The only checklist item is that the kids are alive at bedtime. So far, so good!

Somehow, by the end of the year, every year, I am limping to the finish line. Perhaps it’s the tease of summer just around the corner with no schedules and warm days. Or maybe it’s that I set the bar too high at the beginning and am all burned out by the end.

Whatever it is, I am always glad when summer days inch closer. No more rushed morning breakfasts. No more hunting for books and bags and papers. No more 5 p.m. rush of homework and soccer and dinner.

And most importantly, I get my children back. I get to spend my days with them learning, exploring and bonding. The truth is, I miss my kids during the school year. Let’s face it, my best friends are 4 and 8 years old.

So, if you see me at the bus stop looking a little ragged for the next few weeks, don’t worry. It’s just my End-of-the-Year Mom hobble to the finish. In a few weeks, I’ll be heading to the pool with my two besties in tow, and life will be good.

And come September, this Super Mom will be rested, reconnected and ready to roll again.

What do you look forward to most about the end of the school year?

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