Back to Routine Rant

Tomorrow marks the beginning of another school year, not being met with much enthusiasm in this household as usual.  This includes me.  For a night person getting up, and mustering the gumption to get a move on is painstaking. It doesn't help that not one of my three offspring are self-starters in the AM.  It takes multiple calls and checks to get everyone moving satisfactorily.  In the past I admit I have half-carried at least one kid to the car not fully dressed with the admonishment that all clothing should be on it's proper part by the time we arrive at the school.  I also admit I am not going to win parent of the year for attempting to retain my sanity by driving them the whole 1 km and change. My sanity is worth more than any accolades, so I will continue to do so!  This will be the second year of working mostly day shifts while they are at school, so I can further justify driving them, as it is on my way to work.

I chuckle at the whole getting back to a routine.  I am not one of the enviable ones who gets a long, languishing summer vacation along with the kids.  I continue to work during their break, often times working even more hours, as that is BUSY season at a hotel.  I aim to be as flexible as possible, working any shift that fits our specific dynamics.  I am classified as part-time, but anyone who has seen my time sheets for the past couple of months wouldn't believe it.  Sadly, it seems any extra moolah I made on those hours went right back out the door on going back to school. So to all of you who say, "Oh, you must be able to save a bit extra from doing the extra hours," I say, "Nope, life is always full of extra things to pay for!"  Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the opportunity to work more, but it never quite translates into a significant windfall come payday.

I am hoping as we transition from summer, and the workload goes down a bit that I will be able to enjoy a pay-off of a different sort.  Time.  There is so much I want to do and accomplish, and having time while the other family members are doing their thing will be incredibly welcome.  Whoever spoke the lines about trying to get things done while family is underfoot is like trying to brush your teeth with cookies in your mouth, was really onto something.  I was looking forward to the kids relying less on me as they are getting older, but it seems I will need to be patient with that a bit longer.  I am still the Xbox controller battery changer, the electronics troubleshooter, the ATM, and whatever else the kids think I was put on this Earth to do.  I no longer have to dress or spoon feed anyone, but I still hear Mooommm! more often than I thought I would.  My oldest is starting his second to last year of elementary school, and the youngest is going into Grade 1.  It is going to be interesting hearing the daily tales of what the world of school will teach them each day.

So, yes in a way, it is back to a routine, not that we didn't have one before, but it will be a different routine, the one the school system imposes upon us. Now I will have another factor to schedule work times.  The point is, I have made it work for me before, and I will make it work again, or it will be time to find a new working solution.  As I like to point out to those with their 9-5, Monday to Friday jobs, good for you, but the world runs 24/7, and somebody needs to fill other time slots too!
Routine, welcome, lets's make it work!