School Holiday Blues

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers. ~Edgar W. Howe

When I was a kid, school days were drags; school holidays were greatly rejoiced.

Things took an ironic twist when I entered Motherhood. School is the place I worship while school holidays send me shudders.

There isn’t a day when I won’t rush my kids to school so that I can enjoy some peace and serenity at home, even for a few couples of hours.

Imagine my dread when school holidays draw near. It’s time to armour up and put on the followings:

* sound-proof head gear
~ a necessity to survive the ordeal
* see-through goggles
~ another necessity to keep your sane
* bullet-proof vest
~ you never know when a missile is going to sail through the air
* disciplinary staff
~ nay, machine guns are fatal
* military boots
~ hey, it’s a war zone out there, you know, got to mind your step!

Bizarre as it sounds, having warfare with three kids is not something to be taken lightly. If not handled properly, you may be crippled for life.

Dilemmas are supposed to be daily affairs. But during the school holiday period, be prepared to be smothered by them.

We want to let them enjoy after all the hard work they have put in for their examinations but we don’t want them to go overboard.

We want to lavish them with rewards but we don’t want them to take things for granted.

We want to be fair when there is a dispute but something fair to one may not be fair to the other.

We want to delight the kids with exciting outings but Rachel will want to bunk in the library; Mervin will prefer to stay at home with his X-box console; and Angel will love to hang on a monkey bar.

And when it comes to dinner time, Rachel adores pizza; Mervin prefers Kentucky Fried Chicken; and Angel wants McDonald’s nuggets.

Somehow, there’ll still be a miraculously smashing good day when all of them will come to term on where to go, what to do, where to dine and even how to behave. That is when you will feel that whatever torments you had gone through are worth undergoing again.

Even weeks before the school holidays, kids have been asking me where we will be going. Rachel suggested ice-skating. Mervin suggested arcade. Angel suggested EVERYTHING. I gave them my usual “see how first”.

I have other plans in mind. We’ll go to my mother’s place for a short stay-over. They’ll have the first week to enjoy with their respective school excursions. On the second week, they’ll have to start revising every morning and spring-clean their rooms in the afternoons. The third week will be spent revising in the morning and some small casual outings in the afternoons. And then comes the FINAL week! My spirits will start picking up as the grueling days are ending soon! There’ll still be revisions in the morning, and maybe longer outings, to celebrate the end of my turmoil.

Maybe you’ll wonder why I still want to bog my kids down with all the school works since it’s the school holidays. But hey, it’s MID-YEAR school holidays (spell “tests and exams are not over for the year yet”)!

By the way, the above schedule is my IDEAL school holidays timetable. As a Gemini, it’s unlike me to make a decision and stick to it. More than often, you’ll find me straying from the usual planned agenda and doing things unintended.

In the end, the kids still get to enjoy their school holidays in the expense of our mental and physical health.

To me, SCHOOL HOLIDAY simply spells WAR. But by night, my warlords will become the perfect little angels, with closed eyes and contented sighs. These are what make my heart swells and eyes go damp. Everything seems alright then.

All are right, until the first light.