That Staples back-to-school commercial about “the most wonderful time of the year” isn’t wrong, but school starting back up can also be super stressful.
You finally settle into a summer groove and now it’s back to the school year and you gotta start the groove-finding all over again and then once that happens there’s holidays and random days off that you need to cover and then once that’s all settled, it’s summer again.
Not to mention COVID is still a thing, school shootings are still a thing, and all that shit on your to-do list (aka, the invisible load you’re endlessly carrying) is still a thing… There’s a lot going on.
I know you’re trying to figure out how the hell you’re going to navigate all of this. It’s okay to be freaked out. Truly. That you’re freaking out doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. It’s a normal reaction to this abnormal situation. “Abnormal” being that we were never made to juggle all of these demands solo with so few resources.
It’s not you. It’s just human-ness.
Some seasons are difficult seasons, and seasons of transition are definitely on that list. And back to school is DEFINITELY a transition season.
You will come out the other side of this, though, and here’s why:
🧠 You are smart. You figure out complicated shit all. the. time. and this will be no different. You got this.
👨🏾👧🏾👦🏾 You are a great parent. I can tell, because you lose sleep over making sure you’re making the best decisions for your kids and you do everything you can to keep them safe every day, just like you have for their whole life.
🏆 You are doing the best you can. You don’t need to compare the best YOU can with the best SOMEONE ELSE can. It’s not relevant. Your best is enough.
⏳ It won’t feel like this forever. Change is hard. Constant change is REALLY hard. And starting something new amid constant change—or doing the same thing you did before but in a radically changed environment—is gonna feel rough. But it won’t feel rough forever. Just for a little while.
✅ You’re allowed to do this in the easiest, most bare-minimum way possible and it still counts and your kids will still be okay.
I know you’re endlessly asking yourself if you made the right choice, no matter what choice it was. Homeschool, public school, private school, unschool, road school — they all work. The “right choice”? There isn’t one. There’s just the choice that works for your family. And you get to make the choice that feels most doable for you — perfection not required.
You don’t need to bake the best cookies or make the most creative lunches or set a new record for volunteering in your kids’ classroom or submit the most perfect homeschool portfolio the world has ever seen or always produce a new coordinating backpack / lunchbox / pencil case combo for the first day every year. You don’t have to be a perfect mom to be a good-enough mom, and you are ALWAYS a good-enough mom. That’s plenty.
You can:
- Not buy new school clothes
- Let them use the same backpack as last year
- Get off track with your lesson plan
- Realize in the middle of a meeting that you forgot to check their homework last night
- Accidentally send them to school with yesterday’s leftovers in their lunch box without realizing
- Oversleep and miss the bus
And you’re still a good-enough mom. A kickass mom even.
Your goal is to keep yourself and them alive as best you can — not to be a Stepford mom. Lower those standards, baby.
And if you don’t know how to stop aiming for perfect — or are convinced the world will fall apart if you release the reins — we should talk. Leave a comment below and tell me where you’re stuck, or reach out if you want to get started working together 1:1 or in a small-group setting.
Allowing for a good-enough back-to-school season is part of zero-fucks parenting, but there is so much more, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
