21 Days

The Teenager starts out at Community College on the 25th so we’re all starting school in the 25th. That’s 21 days. That means there is 21 days left in summer. 21. Days.

Usually I am excited about our school year by now. Usually I have everything prepped and ready. Usually I can’t wait to regain some order out of the summer chaos. Often by this time, I have spent many hours perusing the school supplies isle at Wal-Mart buying pencils and paper and folders. Not so this year, this year I shield my eyes as I quickly walk past that section of the store. School supplies? What school supplies?

Honestly I have just been NOT thinking about it. I’ll start thinking about it, but then I get twitchy and stop. Don’t get me wrong. I have all the materials necessary to teach the kids, I start gathering all my curriculum in March. I have enrolled them in the requisite ancillary classes, and sports. But I’m just not ready for school.

Truth be told, I haven’t even cleaned off last years stuff from the book shelves. I still have all the books and curriculum for my co op classes (which I am no longer teaching) on those shelves as well.

I think it may just be that last year was such a stressful school year. What with the broken jaw, the bonus kid we had for the first semester, the shingles, the chicken pox, the head lice (don’t ask it was horrible) and all the algebra issues, not to mention teaching at the co op and making sure Ann got to Scottish Rite four days a week for her dyslexia remediation class, oh yeah, and providing a complete and balanced education to my kids.

I think I have post traumatic stress disorder from last year, because just typing that last paragraph made me twitchy. I am not teaching at co op this year. We don’t have any bonus kids living with us right now; in fact Will will hardly be schooling with us at all now that he’s at the community college. No one has broken anything, we’ve been healthy for a long time, if anyone ever gets head lice I’m shaving all of our heads, and no one is doing algebra this year (praise the Lord!). I do still have to get Ann to Scottish Rite four days a week though.

Really when I look at my responsibilities for next year they are not overwhelming. So I really should stop feeling overwhelmed.

Okay, today I am determined to go through the book shelves and clean out last year’s stuff and start getting ready for this year…or maybe I’ll do it tomorrow.