the school series : the amateur school mum

beach visits on a whim - the beauty of school holidays

The first six months of school have been a little like the first six months of motherhood. I've been the amateur, tentatively walking a new path, questioning my ability and my decisions. Whilst my days are not dictated by the cries of a newborn they are most definitely controlled, to an extent, by the school bell.

Documenting my experience as a school mum seems relevant to this space and so it's with all honesty that I say it's been harder than I anticipated. This brand new phase of parenthood has been a little confronting and it's definitely taking me time to adjust. Che is thriving - I'm so grateful for his enthusiasm and happiness. But me? Well, generally I've found it all a bit overwhelming. 

When you become a school mum you automatically take on a whole new list of responsibilities - life gets significantly busier. We were a few weeks into the school year when I realised that this new level of busy was now my normal. It was then that I vowed to keep things simple; easy afternoons, no extra curricular activities, slow, spontaneous weekends. Even so, there's been a fair few weeks where I've wished for those pre-school days when we were a little freer.

When your first-born starts school you grieve the end of one journey as you attempt to embrace another. There's a period of transition that can be a little rocky; you step into a new role and place yet another hat on your head. It's only now, in retrospect, that I understand what the transition phase was all about. Amidst the strict routine of the school week I was establishing a rhythm so that I could, in my own way, feel grounded and settled in my new role. 

I spent most of 2012 wondering how Che was going to cope with the changes - not once did I think it would be me with the issues. Parenthood is so humbling.  

Read the whole story : the school series