My most important job is mom. I am mommy year round and 24/7. Those who know me best, however, know that I am one person with two mommy personas: School Year Mom and Summer Mom.
Please meet School Year Mom. This is me most of the time. School-year mom is ruled by the clock. I am always aware of the daily schedule. The alarm rings at 5:00 a.m. If I awake energized, school-year mom heads to the gym so I don’t have to drag myself there after the school day – which I believe might neutralize the calorie burn due to the stress hormones I create just anticipating having to exercise after teaching tweens all day. Then it’s back home for the morning routine. Get kids dressed. Get myself dressed. Make lunches. Make breakfast. Ask Jameson to please find his shoes. Check Google Calendar for the day’s events. Drink a cup of coffee. Demand that Jameson find his shoes. Sign reading logs and refill water bottles. Pour a big to-go cup of coffee. Do short breathing exercises before half-yelling at Jameson to please, for the love of all things holy, find his shoes. Grab the coats, and get out the door. It is now only 7:15 a.m.
Little did Harper know that School Year Mom’s armpits were sweating as she watched the clock, hoping she wouldn’t have to cut out early in order to get to work on time so her fifth graders would not be in the classroom alone.
I did make it, by the way! And I didn’t have to leave early. Win, win!
Now meet Summer Mom. On Memorial Day weekend, Summer Mom stops setting the alarm (Ha! We are still up before 6, but the feeling is so freeing.) Summer mom snuggles Jameson and Harper, sips coffee, and reads in the morning all before exercise. Summer mom’s style is typically more calm and go-with-the-flow.
This mommy says “yes” more. Most days, this mommy is also more energetic (sure, let’s ride bikes, go for a walk, have a picnic, blow bubbles, build a fort, make playdoh, read a stack of books, paint – I say yes to paint for goodness sake – and run to the grocery store for popsicles which might delay bedtime).
My family has recently told me they prefer Summer Mommy. Who can blame them? I do, too.
On a more serious note, I love being a working mom. I love teaching, and I love sharing my work with my family. But, teaching is hard and draining, and it takes a toll on families. Moms are amazing, but they only have so much energy to give. During the school year, I always try to exude positive energy for my students who need a warm and happy classroom to be in each day. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, sometimes that means that School Year Mom has no energy left to ride bikes with Harper, or to paint with Jameson, or even to have a decent conversation with Jason. So I am grateful to have the chance to be present and energetic with my family, who deserve Summer Mommy, if even for two glorious months.
