IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL TIME!
So the kids are starting back at school after a VERY long summer (Yay!) and once again you realise that you are quite probably the most unorganised parent out there! Of course, having now left it so late you find that you are unable to buy all items needed in one shop, (because why would life be that easy) and you punish yourself with the question: Why can’t I be more organised like other Mums!
If you are an organised parent you would already have your children’s uniform sorted. Lists drawn out, multiple items ordered in a range of different sizes to ensure everything fitted just right and delivered with ample time to be washed, ironed and hung up with weeks to spare. If this is you, please ignore all the following points and continue to enjoy your stress free evening. …However, like myself, if you are thinking, Wow this is so not me then welcome to my world! Unlike other organised parents, I only had one thing at the top of my list when the schools broke up and this meant holidays and rest and no such mention of uniform planning.
So for all the unorganised parents, here are 10 things you can most certainly identify with:
#1 Having misjudged times that one must buy school uniform it’s off to the shops we go. Of course, you will probably have left it to the last moment and timed to perfection, in that there will be kids running everywhere and mums losing the will to live as they stress about how much easier this could have been if there were more hours in the day and their diary a little more organised!
#2 “I’m terribly sorry we no longer have aged 9-10 years white shirts left in stock. Will 7-8 years old be ok instead?” Ah, yes, I shall just go and find another child that will fit them instead! If looks could kill this would be the moment. Believe me! The idea that anyone would still like a uniform a week BEFORE the start of term seems to have bypassed most major retailers.
#3 Don’t worry about buying multiples of everything and the latest scuff free shoes and non-iron shirts. Really!? I mean are those items anything more then a marketing gimmick! Those Clarks shoes will be scuffed before you can get back to your car on the first day of school. School uniform should be called 'think disposable clothing!' If your child still has all items of uniform half way through the term you are doing well!
#4 Labelling all items is soul destroying! Grandma will insist. PLEASE DON’T LISTEN TO HER. Your life will be stolen before your eyes as you painstakingly iron or stitch in tiny name labels. Instead, be prepared to have clothing lost and forever disappear into the world of lost property. Hmm, tough call.
#5 Buy a pen!
Before the week is through you will have more forms to be filled in for day trips, event mornings, lunch money requests and educational visits then you will know what to do with. FACT.
#6 Ah yes. The dreaded stationary. Block out all these requests from your kids. “I need this £20.00 multiple compartment, zipped and pinging in all directions pencil case from Smiggle Mum. I mean, you want me to stay organised and focused, don’t you”? Little do we know that this is to be the start of what will become a multitude of stationary they will never use.
#7 In case you forgot, remember, that once your kids are back at school your weekends are no longer your own. When you are not ferrying around your tribe to an ever growing list of out of school activities and clubs you will be sitting at numerous birthday parties, sometimes on the same day. Introducing your new job; (to add to the list!) Mums Taxi service!
#8 The night before school starts drama. Where are my school shoes!? Who moved my P.E kit and why aren’t my glasses in their case?. Oh the joy this evening brings me…someone please bring me wine!?
#9 However organised you think you have been, there will always be something you have forgotten. Note, this will also be the item, however small, that your child insists out of anything else on the list of things to buy, this was 100% required in the first 5 minutes of the start of term.
#10 And…just when you say your final goodbyes at the gate and head off, secretly giggling with delight inside, for what seems like 6 hours of pure heaven, you are reminded of the sheer pain of school morning traffic and the fact that this is now your life once again!
So if you have just finished reading this, the question to ask should be…What’s the school item that you’ve forgotten this year?