Time off work...good thing???

I've been thinking a lot lately about how much time teachers get off of work. It's great...sometimes referred to as ATTO (All That Time Off...you know you've heard that or maybe even said it yourself!).

Anyway, teachers do get ATTO: we have to. The kids get burned out, the teachers get burned out and everyone needs a rest. However...

It's actually pretty hard. When you have a little one, your life thrives on schedules and routines. Bedtime, naptime, lunchtime, etc. are all built around schedules. Throw in something different and it wrecks havoc on your little one's life: they're just not used to it. For example:

During the school year, Maelin goes to bed by 9. She's always asleep by 9:30. I have to wake her up at 7:15 every morning (which is awful...she's always exhausted) and we leave right away for daycare. No breakfast or anything. She eats a cereal bar in the car on the way and gets oatmeal when she gets there. Naptime is around 1pm and we get home by 5:30 every night. Then dinner and playtime and bed.

During ATTO, life is a bit more relaxed. Maelin loves to sleep in and not being one to hate that myself, I let her. She usually sleeps till at least 8:30am (which is heaven) and we get up and lounge around in jammies. Breakfast comes around 10 which is usually pancakes or eggs or something like that. Naptime is around 2pm and bedtime (last night anyway...the child was awake!) is at 10pm.

So my thought is...tomorrow I go back to work. I HATE that...I love being home with MaeMae and I'm really sad at the thought that I'm back to missing 2/3 of her life. Anyway, I have to try to get her back on her schedule tomorrow. I have to try to get her to go to bed early tonight, I have to wake her up tomorrow, I have to try to get her to remember Sandra at daycare and I have to get her used to the commute all over again.

It's actually really hard. She never wants to stay at Sandra's after a break...she gets really clingy and it's awful. So we're in for a tough few days. For her and for me...I'm going to be very sad having to wake her up, having to immediately get her dressed and not let her watch "The Wiggles" in her jammies with a bowl of cheerios in the morning (which is what she's doing right now), having to force her into the car (which she hates first thing in the morning), leave her at Sandra's (which she's NOT going to like...very much dreading that) and then try to do it again the next day.

Also, ATTO gives me a glimpse of what my life COULD be like if I was a stay-at-home-mom. It's a big tease. It's not real because I'm getting my paycheck and we don't have to worry about $$$ like we would if I didn't work. However, it is a quick look at it and it's wonderful. I'd love it.

So my point in all this is: ATTO is amazing and I know as a teacher, I'm lucky to have it. However, it does come with a price when you have a little one. Getting them back on their schedule is not an easy task...especially when you have an opinionated little drama queen who does NOT like change.

Send some positive thoughts my way for tomorrow morning. It's not going to be a fun day.