Going back to school a short, sharp shock

There’s no gradual introduction to the school year is there? Everything just takes off. In the space of a week, that pristine calendar turns into colour-coded cross-outs and rewrites.

Just like that, it’s goodbye to hot, hazy holidays and hello to our old friend time and not enough of it.

There’s the stationery, uniforms, haircuts, bags, bottles and boxes to find. Lunches, well, enough said. Homework to dread. Athletics, swimming and, not least of all, the after-school stuff.

Chuck in new schools, teachers and friendships . . . yup, she’s a short, sharp shock for the whole family.

Are you one who acts surprised, like you didn’t see it all coming?

Or, are you one who did (see it coming) and even completed some lovely transition-back-toschool routines?

I have tried this transition business before. But alas, in this house, The Heat and The Light are definitely not the friends of The Early Night.

Frankly, no kid of mine has ever made friends with the early night. It tends to look the same here year after year. Prior to school starting she’s a crazy, last-minute dash to get it all sorted.

It’ll fall into place differently in every household, of course it will.

‘‘Sorted’’ will mean different things to different families. Get yourself all organised weeks out if you must or leave it to the last minute. At the end of the day, school will start, and they will go.

There’s no denying those first days of term one are crackers. They hold hope that it’ll be a great year, the teacher will be cool, there’ll be someone just like me in my class, someone I like even. I’ll make new friends and I’ll keep my old ones.

There’s an air of excited anticipation (or not) that follows kids around as they settle into their school routines.

Meanwhile, we too have to find our new rhythm. There are places that haven’t seen us on our own for six long weeks. Friends to reacquaint with.

You can almost hear supermarket aisles across the country breathe a sigh of relief.

There may be work routines to fall back into or new opportunities to explore. And, yay, it’s still summer.

Whatever the start of the school year looks like at your place, make a resolution to protect your family time this year.

Don’t fill up your free time with stuff that you feel pressured into because others are doing it. Leave time so you can just hang out as a family.

Turn the TV off, practise the old eat-onemeal-a-day-together. Sit with them and tell jokes.

Start actual conversations instead of telling them what to do, where to be and how to think. Get to really know the people you share a home with.

Show them how to laugh, how to relax, how to simply be a family.

Better still, show yourself.

Whatever the start of the school year looks like at your place, make a resolution to protect your family time this year.