I am not sure what happened this year, maybe it was the extra week of vacation or the anxiety and excitement with the transition into middle school and third grade but the beginning of this school year has been hard.  And it is not just me, everyone I have talked to seems to be a little overwhelmed, a little stressed, a little shell shocked, a little off their game and a lot tired. Phew, at least it is not just me 😉
The one thing that I have always said that was the toughest thing about moving to NYC was navigating the school system. There is no such thing as just registering at the local public school and going. When we moved there was the stress of moving into an apartment in the exact neighborhood to make sure the girls were zoned for a good public school (private school at $40, 000 per child was not an option) and even then there was no guarantee as we were still a part of the lottery into kindergarten for R. Just recently we went through the crazy middle school process with A- touring, auditioning, testing and applying to schools and then anxiously waiting to see if she got into her first choice. I am trying not to even think about the high school process…
So, here we are with a brand new school year ahead of us and I feel like we have barely had time to catch our breath. There has been the endless stream of information coming home from both schools, meetings, back to school events, emails, newsletters, requests for supplies, navigation of new routines, planning creative lunches and easy to prepare dinners and of course the dreaded homework. There have been a few days when I have found myself dreaming of flip flops and sandy beaches. Or at least cocktail time. And just right at this very moment an email has popped into my inbox about cheap air fair to Hawaii- no fair!!
I guess I am just finding it a bit hard to find my groove right now, I am struggling with the whole balance thing, instead of organizing, I am ignoring, trying to dive back under the covers and bury my head. Not helpful to anyone especially when I find my patience snapping right around dinner and homework time. Can I get a woooosaaaa??!!!
I have decided that I need a reset and a few reminders. For one, I need to remind myself that I have to take a step back from the insanity of NYC schooling and remember sometimes that it is just school and dammit, it will all work out one way or another. Holy crap, we all survived school and ended up okay. Homework is just homework and is not worth crying or yelling about. It gets done or it doesn’t and the world will not end. Secondly, let’s have some fun, why so serious mom? Can we go apple picking this weekend? Yes, yes we can. And thirdly, I am re-visiting my mantra to choose kindness. We are all going through a crazy time and we should be a little bit nicer, it will go a long way. Most importantly, I am reminding myself to just breathe. All is good, life is good and I am pretty damn lucky. Breathe.
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It's Always An Adventure 