Five on Friday: Back to the Grindstone

Towards the end of the school year, the kids and I started writing a list of fun things we'd like to do over the summer. One of the ideas was for my teenagers to navigate public transportation to get themselves to a town they like that has an arcade, a record shop, a comic book store and some vintage shops.

They were home from school less than a week when my son approached me saying, "So are we going to do that idea soon? Because I feel like summer is sort of slipping away." Of course my response was, "DUDE. You haven't even been home a full week. Give me a minute. It'll get done."

Guess what didn't get done. (*note to self: remember to apologize to son). We did do so many other things on our list and plenty of things that weren't. Of course the teens can still carry out this plan in any other season but I should have known summer would pass by in an instant and we should have prioritized something that he really wanted to do (*second note to self: pick a date for them to do this ASAP before the rest of their childhoods slip away).

But for now it's back to  school, back to work 3-4 days a week, truly back to the grindstone (with credit given to my husband for coming up with this week's title as I actually do work at a mill that's now a museum . . . where there are many grindstones. He's so clever.) and  it's also . . .

1. Back-to-school shopping! The supply lists for the younger kids are so long and specific, it's a little mind-blowing. I did salvage some things from last year ("Mom, this notebook says my brother's name and Spanish 2!" Yeah, and for some reason he only used five pages of it, put a sticker over his name because now it's your Science notebook.) but the rest we needed to purchase. We very carefully went over each list individually while at the store and still somehow came home short one binder . . . which is a perfect segue into the next item on the list:

2. Back to dropping balls! The very first day of High School (the day after we got home from our huge road trip) I was convinced my kids only had a half day. I told them that when they got home at 11:30 I'd be at work and then food shopping so they could eat the leftover pizza we ordered the night before. Guess who didn't have a half day. Nor any cash with them (that they apparently wouldn't be able to use at the cafeteria now anyway as this year it's purchase via account only). 

3. Back to sports and activities! My middle boys just started club soccer, our first year not doing township sports. It's more expensive, a bigger time commitment, more intense and further away! Of course they're on two different teams because of their age difference and three days in I'm already pretty much over it.

4. Back to kids packing their own lunches! Oh, every year I have such good intentions for this being the norm. The plan is that after dinner, while the kitchen is still messy, all kids shall pack their own lunches for the next school day. Around October I'm back to packing their lunches in the morning but THIS YEAR IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. I'm working outside of the home too much now to do everything for everyone. I also acknowledge that I'm not doing my kids any favors by not teaching them to be a little more self-reliant. This year the plan is really going to stick! I swear! Which is a perfect segue into the last item on the list:

5. Back to good intentions! Oh we are not only going to pack lunches at night, I am going to set up my coffee maker every night, too! And meal plan every damn week! The kids are walking the dog before school! I am totally going to bed on time almost every single night. The world is a shiny new (slightly used by your older brother last year for Spanish 2) single subject spiral bound notebook and it's mine to fill with completely organized notes and hardly any doodles! Here's to a great school year!