January 30, 2012. The first day of school. Australia is on a year round schedule and it starts in January. And to that I say THANK GOD! I know so many people in the US love their 9 months of school and 3 months off but I can honestly say YOU ARE WRONG! Yes, I'm judging!
WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!
This is the best way to do it. Hands down, no contest. 4 terms, 2 weeks off in between each term and 6 weeks off at the end of the year. Sheer brilliance. My mom was a teacher and she always said she had to spend the month of September doing a review. An entire month. So 8 months of school. Ugh. No thanks.
All jokes aside about me being giddy to be on my own again, it's really better for the kids. I know at least my kids need the structure of routine. It's their security blanket. More so with Connor and Tessi than with Teddy, obviously. Being on the Spectrum they do need that rigidity. They just think better with choices reduced. Christ Connor gets flummoxed by having more than 3 things to chose to have for breakfast. An entire day trying to figure out what to do? Please, it's a flippin nightmare. Teddy is better about handling free time but even he in the end needs the security of having someone else tell him what to do. Making all your own choices can be scary. They also need the interaction with other kids, especially those who aren't their friends. I believe that they need to be around kids they don't like. After all, some day they are going to have to work with people they don't like, time to learn now how to play nice and not plot the death of a co-worker. At least not where people can hear you.
I'm not one of those maudlin moms. I'm not a mushy, gushy person. Sometimes I wish I was, it would certainly make me fit in better and be part of the MOM crowd but I'm not. I don't live for my kids. I don't even want to. My mom used to tell me how much she lived for me and without me she had no life and let me tell you that didn't make me feel loved. I felt responsible for her very happiness and smothered. So I cringe when I hear parents talk about how their kids are their lives and how they hate to send them to school because they can't stand to be away from them for even a few hours. Trust me you are not doing your kids any favors with that attitude. I swore when Teddy was born that none of my kids would be responsible for my happiness. If I end up living and doing just for them it's my damn fault, not theirs.
So what did the evil troll mom do this morning with her poor children? I dropped them off. I forced them to stand for the obigatory picture and then I said, "Ok, shove off' Teddy ran like Hell to get to the top quad and be SAFE. Connor ran to see if her new BFF had arrived and Tessi has ambushed by her besties. I *think* they noticed I was still there. Nahhh, actually I don't think they gave a rats ass. Tessi found me when the bell rang and gave me a quick hug but I think that's because she saw one little girl crying and felt like that's what she should do. Otherwise she was fine.
I said I loved them and to have fun but I made no secret about being happy that they were off. I waited until the bell rang and then I left. I skipped and sang the whole way to the car. Ted can be happy about being off work but for some reason I'm not allowed to be. Bollocks. Of course I am. We've had 6 weeks of being in each others faces, Connor and Tessi taking turns attaching themselves to my hips, Teddy being a pre-teen and my equal. Damn Dog being, well Damn Dog. Hell, we all need a change. So rather than 3 months off and month spent trying to get back into the swing of things we all get a break in the routine but then are right back in.
Today I'm doing nothing of consequence save a trip to the post office. Tomorrow I'll be a bit more productive. Today...I'm on holiday.
An American family living in Australia. While we all speak English here, I wouldn't say we all speak the same language.
