It’s that time of year again! The lazy days of summer are coming to a close and a new school year is about to begin. It’s another year of learning, another year of adventures and another year older. The pencils have been sharpened, the notebooks labeled and the new lunch boxes are ready to go! My days will once again be mine … but my evenings just got much busier.
As a mother of two ADD kids, I do my best to be positive about school and I try hard to keep learning exciting for them. I still love to learn. In my professional life, I take every opportunity I can to understand something better and every family vacation is sure to include some aspect of science and history. I want my children to have the same love of learning that I do.
But my confession is that I dread the start of school as much as my children do. I like to sleep-in. I hate rushing back from my afternoon activities at 3pm for pick-up (no bus service for us). The after-school sports and activities are cumbersome. And the 3-4 hours of assisted homework and assignments are the price we pay for our children’s learning challenges, as take-home work is a necessary part of knowledge retention, I’m sure. But it’s not fun … it’s painful actually. I much prefer learning in the form of snorkeling a reef, hiking a military fort and shouting out state capitals in the car. Don’t get me wrong, the peaceful and open day-times are wonderful …. but they don’t make-up for the non-stop run-around in the afternoons and the tear-filled evenings.
Many days I dream to say “We survived academia!” I long for the moment when their education has paid off and when my evenings are no longer filled with “I don’t want to”, “I don’t understand”, “That’s not how my teacher does it” and “I hate school”… I look forward to the days when their learning is an independent experience … and I’m not the evil cohort who is forcing them into this torturous practice.
But I know that along with that peace and independence will come an empty house, less hugs and a “letting go” that I’m not ready for.
Just like my children, I too, am on a journey and with each passing year I have something more to learn. I need more patience. They need more independence. Together, we need to continue fighting through and building our bond – because one day, they will call me with a challenge far greater than “Mom, my science project is due tomorrow.” And they will rely on my knowledge and experience to get them through … and I will wish that life was once again simpler for them. But I will thank the lucky stars that it was me that they called first.
So for every parent who is going to cry when they put their babes on the school bus … for every parent who at some point this school year will get a phone call from administration reporting that their child has done something that they as a parent never dreamed their kid would do …. for all the parents of children who don’t enjoy school …. for the homework no one understands and the science projects that you learn about the day before they are due … I give you the slightly sweet yet potent:
Yellow School Bus
- 1/2 cup gin
- 1/2 cup white rum
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup triple sec
- 1/4 cup amaretto
- 1/4 cup 151 proof rum
- 1/4 cup sweetened lime juice
- 4 cups pineapple juice
- 2 cups grapefruit juice
Mix all the liquors, then add the juices. Serve cold or over ice.
May your tears be fewer, your stress be lowered and may school be just a little more palatable for ALL parties involved!
This recipe makes a carafe that will last you all week, saving you time later. And just like a school bus, it’s full of lots of different characters! There’s enough alcohol that its sure to be effective. And because there’s pineapple and grapefruit juice in it … you can start at 9 am and nobody’s gonna judge 😉 LOL
Happy First Day of School! Good luck!
