The SAHMs 10 Signs that Summer Break is Almost Over

This is a strange time of the year for stay at home mothers. Just a couple of weeks ago we were basking in the glow of summer break. No routine. No homework. No racing around for after school activities. We get to sleep in late(ish). There are no tests to study for. No projects are due. We don’t even have to bake a single dish for the PTO.

Ahhh…isn’t summer grand?

But then it happens. All of a sudden something changes. We find ourselves gazing longly at school supplies at Target – eager to sharpen those pencils and stuff those backpacks with Kleenex boxes and notebooks.

Please don’t bombard me with how I should be ashamed for admitting this because each child is a blessing. I KNOW THIS! Don’t try to scare me by saying I will blink my eyes and my kids will be grown. I KNOW THIS. Don’t tell me that one day I will long for my once little children to be home with me again. I KNOW THIS, TOO.

Homeschool you say? You are saintly. No thank you. My kids would say the same thing. I love/ adore/ cherish them. I am devoted to them. But there is a line to be drawn and homeschooling is a bridge too far. And there comes a point when we all need to get back to our routines.

So how do you know when you have entered this phase of summer break? Here are the 10 signs that you’re done with summer and ready to gear up for school:

1. The kids finally start sleeping in later. Now you have to work to get them back on the school schedule. Fun.

2. They are so sick of one another that they argue every waking second. Even the once sacred neighborhood pool cannot stop the bickering.

3. All of their shoes have holes in them. No one wants to send their kid to school on the first day with too small or worn shoes. The tenth day sure, but not the first. Time to buy shoes.

4. Everything you come up with for your kids to do for entertainment, they declare it “boring." When did it become the parents’ job to keep kids entertained?

5. When summer break started you had a strict no television rule. You were not going to let them sit around all summer wasting brain cells. Now you beg them to sit for hours and watch mindless tv. Of course, until they declare that too is boring.

6. You are so sick of going to the grocery store with your kids that instead, you opt to run out of the basic food staples just to avoid the ordeal. Who needs bread?

7. The buzz of the impending new school year gets you a wee bit excited. A new school year means more work for everyone BUT it also means there won’t be a group of little people watching your every waking move. And a few of your sleeping ones.

8. If you find yourself in a group of mothers, you will see the same defeated, worn-out look that you saw in the mirror this morning. You are not alone.

9. The thought of getting a second mortgage just to buy all of the school supplies that your kids need for the new year seems totally worth it. Who doesn’t love the smell of new pencils and notebooks?

10. Your kids miss their friends. And they tell you. Over and over. They need a break from you too.

If you daydream about skipping through the grocery store all alone, meeting your friends for lunch or even going to the gynecologist for a check-up because it is always so darn quiet in there, it must be time for school to start back.

The first day back I will drive my sweeties to school. I will kiss and squeeze them hard. I will tell them how much I am going to miss them and that I will TRY to find things to pass the time. I will wave goodbye as I pull away, careful not to squeal my tires.

Once out of sight I will turn my radio up all the way. I will ride with my windows down as I sing at the top of my lungs. I will give the thumbs up sign to every mother I pass.

You see I am a stay at home mother – I have been fortunate enough to be able to be at home for my family full-time, and that is exactly where I want to be. However I will not feel guilty for enjoying my time away from them as well. I will not think twice before turning cart wheels through Kroger. Sure it is probably inappropriate to laugh like a hyena while standing in the pharmacy line, but I will not stop. And maybe the group of moms eating lunch at the local Mexican restaurant will be a little loud and rowdy that first day, but we will not apologize.

Never fear though. We will be there in the school pick up line on time. We will welcome our kids back home from school with a big hug. We will ask them all about their first day, and we will be genuinely glad to have them back with us.

We are stay at home mothers and we love our jobs.

So go out there and enjoy your last bit of summer. Because the signs are upon us.

Tonja used to live in the grown up world, but now she has a husband, four kids and a princess dog. She refuses to lose her sanity, or herself. If she’s going to be the mother of four, she’ll do it in great shoes. You can read more about Tonja’s hilarious escapades on her blog. You can also find her Facebook.