The school summer holidays are almost here, and to be honest they’re a bit of an inconvenience when you have to work aren’t they?! I wrote this post last year about why the summer holidays are stressful and it’s all still true.
I’m very jealous of the mums who are all excited about not having to rush around every day and get ready early. Imagine having 6 weeks of being able to take your time in the mornings. That part of my day doesn’t change at all just because the kids are off school. I still have to get up at 06:30 every day to get ready for work, drop Little H wherever she needs to go, and get to the office by 08:30. Sometimes when I leave the house I have to stop and think where I’m going. Depending on the day of the week it could be one of two sets of grandparents, holiday club, or a friend’s house. I actually have a colour coded calendar of who’s looking after her on what days.
Our summer holiday schedule has to be planned way in advance to make sure every day is sorted and Little H has somewhere to go. This causes problems when the school mums start inviting her to play dates because we will already have plans sorted. I do have several days off but I don’t really want to spend them all with Little H’s school friends and their mums! I find that the SAHM’s don’t get this though and keep asking me “When are you free?” err…. not very often!
The mum guilt is a regular occurrence in the summer holidays. I feel guilty for having to rush Little H to get out of the house early every day when I’m sure she wants to laze about for a change. I feel guilty for palming her off on people most days of the week when it’s the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together. It also makes me feel guilty that lots of her school friends are getting together and she can’t join them because I’m not around to take her. As she’s getting older she realises now that her friends are meeting up and she can’t because I have to work.
The school holidays are expensive for everyone, but even more so when you have holiday clubs to pay for. At least school is free! Last year we spent £250 on childcare over the summer. It means that when you do get time off together you don’t have as much money to spend on days out.
There are some things I am looking forward to though. Not having to sort school uniforms and make packed lunches for 6 weeks is great.
I’m sure we’ll have some kind of school project to do over the summer but thank goodness there’s no stressing about homework on a Sunday evening, or the last minute practising of spellings at the end of the week.
Having a legitimate excuse for some time off is great too – I won’t be working a 5 day week for six whole weeks! Normally Little H & I only have weekends and a few afternoons after school so it’s lovely to have an extra day each week to spend together. I know the husband is looking forward to his day off each week as well, working Dads never get much time alone with their kids do they?
On the whole, I guess I am looking forward to the summer holidays. It just annoys me that everyone assumes that mums get 6 weeks “off” because there’s no school runs.
Do you look forward to the school holidays or are they just another pain in the arse?
Mary @ Over 40 and a Mum to One
I don’t think it’s easy whether you’re a working Mum or a SAHM really. My son will still have me up at the same time every morning and expect to be entertained every minute of the day until bedtime. It’s all a balancing act isn’t it, and we all do the best we can. As much as I love having more time with him when he’s not grumpy after school, I know I’ll be exhausted come September, the house will look like a bombsite and I’ll be looking forward to having five minutes to myself again. #SchoolDays