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School Holiday Musings of a Work-From-Home Mum
Thoughts from the House of Love and Mayhem: a throwback to our pre-pandemic life, when the kids were only home during school holidays.
Call me crazy but I’ve always loved school holidays. The hiatus from the kids’ extra-curricular activities is absolute heaven. Our tightly organised timetable is chucked in the proverbial bin and, for two weeks, we are free to go with the flow. It’s fabulous.
Except that nowadays my kids seem to flow in all different directions.
It was so much easier when they were little, and I carted them all off for an adventure before their afternoon naps.
‘Quiet time’ was a thing. And they were all in bed by 8.30pm.
As a writer working from home, the flexibility is great, but it’s always a juggle. You’d think it would be easier now the kids are older, but I’m finding these school holidays to be frustrating, exhausting, and challenging. Aged from eight to sixteen, I can’t just lump them all together and take them on an outing, or plonk them in front of a movie with a bowl of popcorn. Even though they are largely self-sufficient, their individual needs seem to impact my time so much more than when they were little.
The boys are teenagers; if they’re not holed up in their rooms maintaining their Snapchat streaks or playing Fortnite, they can generally be found searching the kitchen for sustenance. The problem is the inevitable plan (made via group-chat, of course), which leads to requests for ‘the squad’ to come over, or a lift to the station / shops / basketball stadium. Not to mention repeated trips to the supermarket.
Same with the girls. They enjoy spending their holidays catching up with friends, chattering their way through sleepovers, trips to the local pool, shops, or movies. There is a fairly constant flow of girls-in and girls-out of our house. It’s beautiful and exactly what it should be; I love to hear their giggles as they bake…
