Many children take this in their stride. Many children are a little anxious but, being keen to see their mates, soon settle into the term time routine.
Some children struggle with the whole idea of change… end of term, start of term, going to bed, getting out of bed… and for these children life seems to be extra challenging. So, the last couple of weeks have been tricky and this morning was horrific. For the children, for us.
But now, today, they are back in school. We have around six hours when they are in someone else’s care.
Six hours.
If we work outside the home then we may have piles of catching up to do at work. We may have younger children at home. And, if we are at home, many would argue that we should spend these hours washing, ironing, cleaning and preparing food for this evening. Plus, the endless tidying up.
There may be appointments to make or to follow up. We could have forms to fill in, DLA, PIP or just start-of-new-school-year forms… School might phone.
Just pause a moment. Do thoughts come crashing in? Concerns about our children?
Six hours.
So perhaps it would help if we make ourselves a plan. A plan to spend some time adjusting to the change. A plan to grab a coffee with a friend or to drink a whole cup of tea before it goes cold, to eat a whole sandwich while it is still fresh. A plan to take a bath, uninterrupted. Go us, we might even get to the hairdresser, or perhaps the dentist.
Six hours.
Enough time to spare a little for ourselves. Let’s recharge the batteries before the afternoon school run. Let’s care for ourselves because we are worth it, and because everyone else will benefit.
Let’s avoid the people who may not build us up, just for today. Let’s surround ourselves with people who get it.
