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I was rambling like I do on my snapchat the other night about not being a great school mum. And I got thinking about it.
I am not a school mum. I just am not.
Growing up, my Mum was at canteen all the time, and reading groups and she even organised the fete one year with her other school mum buddy.
I couldn’t organise a fete even if my Mum told me how to do it. And when the hell would I do that?! I’ve got availability at like 3am these days.Image may be NSFW.
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The reason i had a long hard think about it, was that I went to pick up Iggy from school the other day, and I realised, I had no clue which door he would walk out.
I’ve been into school this year maybe 3 times.
1 was for parent teacher meeting, which I usually wouldn’t have made it, but the timing just managed to work out, and then another time I had to get Iggy from the office because he was sick and another time he wasn’t at the gate when I went to pick him up.
He always gets picked up at the gate. So I never need to go into the actual school.Image may be NSFW.
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I saw my friend there and noticed there were no parents around. It made me feel so much better because she said in primary there is hardly any parents at pick up because the kids catch the bus or go out the gate themselves. I felt better.
But I remember in infants, all the parents knew each other and would chat and catch up, and I only knew/know a few rad parents. And I would be just hanging out like a weirdo by myself not knowing anyone and people were nice to me and say hello but they know me from the shop or instagram, not cos I’m a dedicated school mum baking cookies for everyone each week. . .damn it, now I want a cookie. I’ll ask my mum to make some. She’s good like that Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
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I don’t do class catch ups with parents, the anxiety is enough to make me pass out, but they are usually on a Thursday night, and this working Mumma doesn’t have the brain capacity to work out how to manoeuvre all that. The parents are all super lovely, I just have no clue how they manage to get out on a Thursday night. It’s quite amazing to me. I guess I don’t prioritize it either. I have to watch Vampire diaries that night and catch up on the instagrams Image may be NSFW.
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I don’t do canteen. Which I feel bad about because I loved it when my mum was in the canteen. I always thought everything was free and I got to be in the canteen with all the ‘free’ food I could ever want. Those carob buds were amazing. You felt like a hero when you got to be IN the canteen and your buddies waited outside. I have to work though.
Trying to run a business, run other people’s social media, run a house, have a 4-year-old, and an almost 9-year-old, deal with Cocos separation bullshit and be a canteen mum is just too much anxiety inducing fear for my head to cope with. And to be honest, I think I would be shit at it. I was a nanny and have two kids so everyone always thinks I’m like this awesome with kids type person.Image may be NSFW.
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I’m super awesome with kids but kids asking me what they can buy for 40 cents makes me want to bash my head against a wall. I like kids, I’m actually pretty good with kids, just not in huge masses. I also think I would probably want to eat all the canteen food. Dont get me wrong, I love my own kids. I just don’t want to hang with hundreds of random kids that are hungry.
More reasons why I’m not a school mum. . . Iggys shirts have one button instead of 2 or 3, in a weird spot that doesn’t match up and the button isn’t the right colour. And its been that way for like 6 months. One shirt is cool because Iggy was at my Mums one afternoon and she whipped out her sewing kit and fixed it. But the others will probably remain one buttoned and wonky until the next shirts are purchased. His sports shorts, are a bit too small. Like way too short now. One of them has a hole.
I’ve made about 2 lunches this year. Steve does lunches. I don’t actually feel bad about it though. How many working and non working MUMS do school lunches and no one makes a fuss or gets a ticket tape parade, but when the husband does the lunches there is a freaking celebration with streamers. Not in this house. I fed them dinner, he can make them lunch.Image may be NSFW.
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The moral of the story is this. I’m probably more selfish than is required. But its kind of ok.
My kids are number one on my list of course, but I have to let go of some stuff in order to be able to spend max amount of time with them. I can’t be the school mum that a lot of other Mums are. I can’t do the reading groups, and volunteer to collect books or organise the fete. I couldn’t even GET to the fete last year because I had to work. Image may be NSFW.
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And For the last 3 years I would feel so guilty that I was such a shit school mum, but no more. Thats ending.
My kids get a great education, and the school keeps us up to date with everything and even when Iggy has had some reading difficulties, we have worked hard at home with whatever advice the reading teacher has given us and they work hard at school to help him. I don’t get into the school like EVER, but I have to work. I have to feed the kids somehow.
I’m just not going to feel shit anymore for not being at school as much as some other parents can be.
My kids are loved hardcore round here.
I’m a crap school mum.
But I’m good home Mum.
Just love them hard always.
