The past two weeks have been busy. Very busy. A lot of what was planned was really fun, but it didn’t leave for much free time.
{Some of what kept us busy: pizza movie night in the garage with my son’s friend, our daughter’s family birthday, hosting daughter’s friends in the backyard and garage, water park Saturday x 2 (I got reservations for consecutive weekends in case the first was too cold to go, but both Saturdays were warm enough so we went twice!) camp orientations over zoom, eight hour marathon photo book making afternoon/evening, end of year events at my school}
Now that I am officially done with the school year, and both my kids are in camp (my daughter starts today too! Woot!) I will suddenly have A LOT of time without kids: 9:30 to 2:15, Monday through Friday. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’m going to do with that time.
Of course I’ll be packing my classroom, and honestly that might be all I do this week because by the time I drive down there and give myself time to drive back, I will only have about four hours to pack. If I run, it will be even less. Honestly, there is a part of me that is relieved I have a concrete way to spend that time, because if I didn’t I’d be floundering. What do people who don’t work, but have kids in school full time do all day? (Pre-pandemic obviously). I mean yeah, I’d do some deep cleaning, and probably work out more or longer but then, what? I supposed my kids wouldn’t be in aftercare so the “school day” would be shorter (closer to what I’m looking at right now with camp), but still, that is A LOT OF HOURS to fill. I’ve always wondered what parents who don’t work but have kids in school from 8:30 to 2:30 do during that time (I’ve never had a friend who didn’t work once their kids were in school, so I haven’t had anyone to ask – I guess they probably have side hustles or other personal projects to work on).
You may be thinking, well what do you during your crazy long summers – I don’t get eight weeks off! – must be nice!) and that’s a fair question. I usually spend the first weeks doing some projects around the house that have been languishing for months. My house is usually in various states of disrepair so I can burn a full week just going through my kids old clothes, organizing the garage and deep cleaning the floors (which won’t have seen even a mop since the previous summer). I usually also schedule a bunch of appointments (that is next week, when I’m getting my teeth cleaned, my allergy shot and a chiropractic adjustment) in late June, because it’s hard to get that stuff during the school year (I can’t just take a “long lunch” when I’m teaching).
Then, about two weeks after the my school year ends, we head to St. Louis to visit my family. And sometimes we have another trip planned after that. Sometimes I sign up for a week or two of professional development (almost never paid – usually I pay out of pocket to attend) in July. At the end of summer, I’m usually back at work before we officially start in mid August. So I usually only have 2-3 weeks of “free time” when my kids are in camp and I’m not traveling or in a training. That tends to go by really fast.
This year is a little different obviously, and I’m going to have to figure out how to spend some free time. It’s the absolute best quandary to be hitting my head against, to be sure. Still, it has me rather perplexed.
{Honestly, the free time has never freaking me out as much as this summer which I think speaks to how over extended I’ve been for the past 15 months. When you quite literally have NO free time, finding even an hour of it a day can be very disorienting. I keep trying to remind myself of that.}
We do have some fun things planned, so it’s not like I have eight weeks of kid-in-camp to burn (they are only in camp for seven weeks total, actually and three of those weeks only one of them is in a camp – like last week) . I also need to pack my room in June and unpack it in August (and we start August 11th this year, which feels so, so early). So maybe it will go faster than I think. There is certainly PLENTY to do around the house, if I were so inclined (but ugh, I’m really not – I’m so sick of my house!). I’d like to let myself enjoy a little bit of down time. I haven’t taken a day off since the pandemic started because what was I going to do or where was I going to go? (And of course teachers get weeks off during the year so it’s not like I worked all that time.) Still, I’ve been on double duty working at home while my kids learned at home for an entire academic year so… some down time would be nice.
I’ll definitely find a book to read (any recommendations?) and I’d love to find a show to binge watch at night (again, any recommendations?). Soon I’ll be finding out what classes I’m teaching next year and at least two should be new (4th and/or 5th grade Spanish which I have never taught), so I’ll have some work stuff to keep me busy. If I were my husband I’d be buying some crazy video game that I could play for 60+ hours but I don’t really like video games so… Maybe I’ll blog more, but lately it feels like I’m just shouting into the void. I’m not really sure if blogging is where I want to spend my time, even when I have more of it.
I’ve had people ask why I put my kids in camp if I’m home during the summer. My answer is that they are happier humans when they have something to do. This year I’m doing it because that is still true, and we also (a) all need some time away from each other and (b) they need practice managing a longer, structured day with outside-our-house expectations. They had 10 days of in person learning last year, so they need to ease into a full academic day this fall. Camps are going to help do that.
They are also going to give me some much needed free time. Now I just have to figure out how to use some of it.
What do you do when you have free time? Can you even remember?
My mom was a “SAHM” with 3 kids. She side hustled a bunch before/during/after the school day. She would do pick up/drop offs for other people’s kids (and get like, $50/week or whatever for it), she taught an aerobics class most weekday mornings (it was the 80s!), was one of the lunch ladies at my school, and taught piano lessons in our living room in the evenings. She also did a lot of volunteering in our classrooms and helped on school trips, etc. Once the youngest of us was in junior high, she went to University and completed a 4-year teaching degree. She also put us in camps (not all summer, but usually for a week or two). It was fun for us, which I don’t know if anyone considers, lol.
Thank you for sharing! I supposed this is what I assumed people did but I wasn’t sure.
When you say “this was fun for us” I’m curious what you’re referring to – the camp or having a SAHM?
Sorry, I forgot I had commented on your post, lol. In answer to your question, I was referring to the camp 🙂
TV – we’ve been watching The 100 on Netflix and loving it but it’s gotten very heavy lately so we’re mixing some Sweet Tooth (also Netflix) in.
Book – I’m a few chapters in to The Nature Fix and find it fascinating (which is saying a lot because I’m almost a straight fiction reader).
I work PT and may daughter is in school. I’ve spent my time revisiting a hobby I had pursued growing up but had let drop in the interim, civic and political involvement, and helping support my husband’s side business. I also handle pretty much all the house and kid stuff.
I’d like to see you actually rest.
Perhaps some advance prep work for the school year; esp the new classes you will be teaching. If you have freezer space maybe do some advance prep of dinners for when you head back to school (This assumes you will not lose power during fire season and I am not at all sure of that!)
Do some things for just you that restore your soul and make your non-kid part of the house nicer for you. Maybe some extra exercise/strength time. May be some hitting of tourist locations in SF with your kids. Maybe just time alone with your thoughts without time pressures. Maybe even a lunch or two with just you and your husband being two people together without an agenda. A nap? Time to just sit in quietness …. You have been burning your candle in 12 or more places all the time; quiet and peace would be so good for you; without any pressure to produce!
I hope so much you have enough time to actually relax your body and mind! After the past 18 months of never doing this you are waaaaay overdue.
I’m in agreement with Purple and Rose, above. Use this precious time to do what nurtures your body, mind and soul. And if you’re not sure what that might consist of, then now is a good time to contemplate those thoughts, and reconnect to your self.
Do I remember rightly that you have an affinity for photography? If so, perhaps you can crack out your camera gear and reconnect to your visual world?
Whatever it is you do with your time, I hope you find fulfilment and feel nourished and well-rested in your whole self when the new school year comes around.