A day off from the circus
Sophie Lombardi
There are two more full weeks of the school holidays. Part of me will miss the lack of routine, longer days and limited bursts of sunshine. The other part of me will be crawling to the finish line desperate for a quiet house.. I have to say that school holidays are easier when the children are older but you are still running a circus and spinning plates are being dropped in this house.
When the kids are little you are literally holding together a full on Cirque Du Soliel summer camp. Six weeks with teenagers is much less intense but with some hairy moments on the trapeze (note underage festivals). As the kids grow up, parents often take on more work (to pay for all the Vinted purchases) and it is a scramble to fit everything in. Last week I had 24 hours at Thorpe Park and then a 6 hour drive back to a full inbox in Cornwall. Knackered.
To stop myself from falling in a messy heap at the start of September, I have found that scheduling a reset day is very important. This doesn’t have to involve money which has all been spent on school uniform. But there are strict rules that need to be followed.
No looking at work or school related emails.
Do not go and tidy the kids rooms or do any boring routine chores.
Do the school drop off and go back to bed with a cup of tea for as long as possible.
Watch TV in the middle of the day. Preferably a very trashy series.
Have a bath in the middle of the day.
Go for a long slow walk.
Do what you want to do rather than what you have to do.
The wellness industry would tell you that you need a sound bath, a cacao ceremony and a silent retreat to reawaken your chakras. I find that saying ‘I am not doing nothing for nobody’ for a day makes me feel a whole lot better and is much more accessible. Schedule yourself a reset day in September and see how you feel.
In the meantime, good luck with the ***t show and the trip to Clarks.
Sophie x
