What I Was Reminded of Over the Easter Holidays

I was pissed off/in a strop reflective when I wrote this Sunday evening, the last day of the holidays.  I was caught up in a snarl of resentment about how much of my life (and theirs!) gets sucked up with school stuff.  It’s a very busy time and I find it all quite stressful.   The school lunches were made – I had no choice.  The fucking things were nah-nah-nah-nah-ing at me since 8am, reminding me it was the last day.  So I made them.  Then I couldn’t rest because I needed to get the uniforms sorted.  I was gasping for a cup of tea glass of wine and I had the fear that even one glass would make me forget about them so I resentfully pulled jumpers and shirts off the hangers upstairs and left them in a big pile in the laundry basket.

I tried to cheer myself up with the fact that the Easter break is a little taster for the summer holidays which are only around the corner now. 

Anyway, time waits for no man, woman or child and the fact is, school is back for the next two months.

In the meantime these are some of the things I was gently reminded of over the break.

Things can be mad. Then they just settle right back down.   For the first week or 10 days there is a lot of frustration and copious amounts of wine consumed; then pure and utter bliss takes over as we all settle into the new routine.  In fact one of the boys asked if we could “stay at home tomorrow and do nothing” over the Easter Sunday weekend.  Suited me just fine.  We weren’t even that busy as we tend to chill and relax during school breaks anyway. And best of all, I get to stay in the scratcher until 8am most days. 

Pyjama Days.  I have a little confession to make.  Despite having four boy children who can be the very devil to dress we have never ever had one of those pyjama days that others have at the drop of a hat.  That’s not my confession.  My confession is; pyjama days never sat well with me.  It always seemed, lazy, I suppose.  *runs off to hide* I have seen the error of my snobby ways.   Oh boy, oh boy, days where your kids sit around in their pyjamas are lovely.  The sheer lazy, decadence of it all.  And they were happy as Larry too.  We had no more and no less than two pyjama days.  I am easing myself into it slowly.  Next weekend we might not even bother getting dressed at all.

Crankiness.  Lack of bedtime routine can make for messiness.  Lots of messiness and when night time awakenings interfere with my much awaited for uninterrupted 8 hours sleep, heads might just roll.  One of the lads got very cranky into the second week.  He indulged in a fierce amount of whinging and whining over nothing at all.  He was doing my head in.  He moaned if he lost on Xbox.  He gave out when his brothers said something he didn’t like.  It went beyond sensitive.  The truth is, the child was knackered.  Going to bed at 9pm for the first week of the break was taking its toll.  He was in his bed at 8pm sharp that night where he remained for almost 12 hours.  Totally different child the next day.

Teeth brushing.  This tends to get forgotten about in the mornings.  It doesn’t matter that I leave the toothbrushes on the sink every night as a reminder for the next day.  If we are not getting in the car and heading off somewhere, even for a litre of milk, the teeth are sorely neglected.  Which makes for much complaining that night when they all get an extra special super dooper scrub.

Wine.  I alluded to this already.  It is not my fault that the supermarket does a nice deal on wine during the Easter break.  Not my fault at all.  Nor is it my fault that I like to avail of it.  Likewise when I have a few glasses every evening during the break.  I put it all down to being teetotal during four back to back pregnancies and/or breastfeeding to 16 months.  Maybe I’m making up for it now?  Judge me.  Go ahead.  I dare you!

Brighter evenings.  Makes it harder for them to go to bed.  Particularly on the night before they are back to school.  It doesn’t matter on the other nights when bedtime is stretched out a bit, but bright evenings make them highly suspicious that their parents are pulling a fast one and annoying demands for food are made.  All in an effort to delay the inevitable. 

Confusion.  Mine.  I always hear the theme tune from Glenroe in my head on the Sunday night before they go back to school.  Sometimes I even have the Leaving Cert Exam Dream.  You know the one; it’s present day but you’re sitting the exam not having opened a book in twenty odd years.  I’m a jittery mess in the morning; did I make the lunches?  What about their uniforms?  School bags?  Water bottles?  I’m forgetting something, I know I am!  I always double check the heads in the car before we leave the house and then I spend the journey reminding myself to take a right at the traffic lights and not continue straight to the supermarket.

Poundage.  For the previous two summers I was sickened, annoyed and completely frustrated to discover, despite regular running, I gained a very generous half stone.  The penny dropped this Easter break and it appears it is the constant running around after the lads, endless school runs, appointments, sporting activities and forgetting to eat that keeps the weight down, not road running.  Easter chocolate doesn’t help either I suppose.  I am hanging onto the belief that weight gained quickly will be lost even quicker.  Maybe I just made that one up.

Come on end of June!  Let’s be having ya!  Does anyone else strongly dislike school or is it just me?