Tuesday 11 July 2017

The Strangest School Holidays Ever

It has been a very strange school holiday so far.  This week may feel a little more like normal, but so far it has been anything but.

It began last Monday with an early morning drive to get Miss Mischief off on her road trip to Sydney, to attend a conference up there.  Since I was up in the wee dark hours, when I got home I just got stuck into some work....four days later I decided that was enough!  We missed Mischief coming home, since the rest of us headed up to my parent's home in country Victoria.  It was an odd feeling, having us there and Mischief here, when she finally got home.

To add to the oddness, Miss Sunshine has gone back to Uni, so while the rest of us are still on a break, she's back to the grind and none to happy about the idea!  By the end of this week she'll feel better.  I'll go back to school next week, and then a week later Mr Busy, and then the week after that Miss Mischief will be back.  By August maybe life will look like we expect it to!

Gone are the days where all the little people here spent the first week of holidays bickering and trying to figure out what to do with themselves and all their spare time.  Gone are the constant "what can I eat?" and "Can I watch a DVD?" and "Can I play on the computer?" questions I used to field and manage constantly.  I don't manage the logistics of getting kids to holiday activities any more either.  Well.  Except for Mr Busy.  His Wednesday mornings are spent at church doing the technical behind the scenes stuff of lighting and sound and CG for Movie Morning.  This week one of the girls will need to do that ferrying.  Once upon a time I found school holidays exhausting and had to work hard to ensure everyone settled into something of a routine that wouldn't send us all crazy.  Once upon a time I wouldn't have worked at all through the break.

This school holiday break has been the oddest for sure.  But as I ponder what has been and consider the season in which we find ourselves, I suspect this is our new normal.  Kids who start and stop their school breaks at inconsistent times.  Kids who get themselves about the place.  Peace in the house because everyone gravitates to their own space when they're home.

The tip of the oddness:  me suggesting a trip to Eastland.

You can't imagine the sideways look I got from Miss Mischief.  Eastland is not on my list of places to visit.  One previous trip ended in hungry tears after being lost.  It's a whole story.  Another trip ended with us losing the car, because the car park there is ridiculous.  But Eastland is home to Daiso.  And Daiso is my kind of shopping.  So the girls are going to guide me carefully and lead me gently.

What's your school holidays been like so far?

7 comments:

Six Little Hearts said...

Shopping mall dreaming! I would love to go but my kids would never give me peace there!
How things change. Childhood really does just fly by.

Left-Handed Housewife said...

I can't believe how old our children have gotten!

Our summer holidays have been just fine. We had such a terrible summer last year, with my mother-in-law's stroke and subsequent death, that this summer seems like a picnic in comparison.

Will has gotten much more social this year, so I do find myself driving more than usual, taking him to friends' houses and pools, and Jack and I are sharing a car, so there's more planning and figuring out schedules. But really, it's been a quiet, peaceful summer so far, and for that I'm very grateful!

xofrances

Natalie @ Be Kind 2 You said...

We went away for the first week just to spend some quality time together as a family and it was well needed. This week I work while constantly running all my little people around. #teamIBOT

Unknown said...

We have the what do do problem every, single day!

Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid said...

Daiso will definitely be worth the trip! I can spend hours in there!

Unknown said...

I remember well when my daughter first left high school, just how different school holidays were then. Still got 4 to go though.

The mummy and the minx said...

Still in the thick of "I'm bored" around here. The kids are back to school now and we are back to situation normal. They are a juggle at the moment but I'm also soaking up the extra time with my boys.