Every year I see all these parent videos and memes of parents celebrating school starting. They have had enough of their kids by the end of summer vacation and can’t wait to ship them off on the big, yellow school bus. I’m just the opposite. I HATE the end of summer. Although I’m a total type-A person and love the routine and structure of the school year, I still would prefer summer. There is just so much planning and whining throughout the school year.

Things I Despise About School

• The forms. All. The. Forms. The forms where I list the same phone numbers three times each on each form…times three kids. Just in case they missed on the first line.
• Making lunches. Washing the tiny containers and thermoses every single night.
• HOMEWORK. Seriously, they are in school 6 hours a day. I work 8 hours. I would like to spend family time not arguing, pouting, and crying (both kids and me). Homework should only be classwork that was not completed in class.
• Fundraisers! I’m all for supporting fundraisers in the schools, but please don’t send fundraiser forms home the VERY FIRST DAY of school. Ridiculous!
• Logging into the school grade database on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis to make sure my kid is doing his work and not missing assignments. ONE particular child kills me! It’s exhausting.
• Dealing with other parents that after years of attending the same school cannot seem to figure out the rules of student drop-off and pickup. A bunch of morons.
• Snow Days. Making up snow days is ridiculous. Send the kids home with work to do in anticipation to a storm coming…school department does follow the weather station. Plan ahead. Kids have been getting out the week before the 4th of July for the past 4 years. We had the shortest summer.
• The dozens of notebooks I have to buy (specific colors requested) and they all come home the end of the year with only 10 pages used in them. I drove to three stores last night to find an orange notebook.
• The repeated robo-calls, and the rapping principal. It’s fun the first time, but we you get the same rap about the same event 3 times in one week, enough please.

What I Miss About Summer

• Movies nights with the kids any night of the week.
• Later bedtimes.
• Fires in the backyard.
• Poolside Sundays with family.
• Our trips to the beach followed by ice cream.
• Sun-kissed skin.
• Low water bill due to “chlorine baths.” Seriously a summer mom fail when you’re not sure the last time your kid actually took a shower.
• Camping with no electronics.
• Late sunsets.
• More chores get done by the kids.

I just can’t believe another summer flew by so fast. I love Fall, but I’m just not ready for it yet. We hit the beach once. The lake once. We never got to the aquarium. I need more summer. This school thing is exhausting. Summers are full of fun and laughter as opposed to whining…and me wining about the whining.