I Can See the End of the School Year…Just Barely

Remember when you were in elementary school and your mom told you that the school year was almost over? You probably had a so-so handle on the concept of time. You probably asked every day if today was the last day of school. Your mom probably deeply regretted mentioning that the end-of-the-school year was close at hand. To you summer was here and school was over. You probably bounded on and off the bus each day. One day closer to freedom. You daydreamed in class about sun, fun, and playing all day long. Thought about anything but schoolwork at school. Your mom couldn’t get you to do your homework with any amount of effort or determination. The school year was to all intents and purpose over…finit…a done deal.

That’s the end-of-the-school year from a kid’s perspective. Now if we are talking about how mom or dad feel about the school year ending it is a different story. I’m the adult dealing with three kids who are in varying states of end-of-school year-itis. Pray for me that I make it to June without tearing my hair out. I’m gearing up for summer for sure, but the school year for me is still in full swing. We have events to attend, projects to do, poster boards to assemble. I see no end in sight…just yet.

My kids on the other hand think the year is over. My youngest is in full-on homework avoidance. Forget about music practice. He’s ready to be done with the year. My middle finishes school over a week before the other two and she has not let them forget about it. She reminds them every day…every single day. Her last day of school will spell doom and gloom for my youngest. He’ll be a bear to get to school once his sister is off school for the summer. Yikes I’m dreading waking him up for school once she is not going to school!

One source of stress for me this year has been driving. Specifically driving the carpool. After years of kids riding the school bus, it was a shock of unimaginable force to have one kid at a school without bus service. I took that beautiful yellow school bus for granted. I didn’t appreciate the joy of seeing the bus pull up each day at the end of my driveway and watching my kid hop happily on board and while I walked back in to my house knowing I would not have to drive anyone to school. Ahhh…those days were good. I still have two riding the yellow school bus.

I drifted in to the whole carpool situation with the thought that a carpool was easy to set up. Amateur. Yes…laugh now…I was just that naive. Almost a school year later and more texts, emails, calls, and IRL conversations about logistics of the carpool than I care to remember, my carpooling days are ALMOST over for the school year.

Though I may not want summer to come as much as my kids, I DEFINITELY want the driving to end. Now don’t get me wrong I love my fellow carpooling moms and dads and even grandpas to death. Without people like them willing to agree to drive carpool, I would be stuck driving 35 minutes each way twice a day to get my daughter to school. Shuddering and sweating just typing that sentence. I would not have survived if I had to drive her to school each day. So as the school year comes to an end so does the carpool. The last schedule of driving was emailed yesterday. I have one more full week of driving mornings and about a week of driving afternoons before we collectively put the brakes on the carpool for the 2012-2013 school year.