By the time you read this I will have had three solid days of freedo… I mean I will be desperately lonely and missing Miss 17 and Miss 11 like crazy. Yes, it’s back-to-school time. Like all parents before me, I have experienced a wide range of emotions and circumstances this past week. It starts with:

* The last week of holidays “Oh my god I’m so neglectful, I haven’t done enough” panic.

From my experience, this one seems to be heavily tilted towards mums. I explained to my husband last week that I was having coffee with a friend, but we both had our youngest kids home with us for the day we were going to meet at the pool and have a chat while they swam together. This was also the exact moment that I realised that his catching up with friends never seems to involve the kids, and I feel a strange mixture of jealousy and pity.

We also managed to fit in last-minute haircuts (thanks, Just Cuts), last-minute uniform shopping, and I made a delicious caramel slice with a very happy Miss 11. Who turned into a very sad Miss 11 when I explained it was for the teachers at her school to get them through a long staff development day, and to reclaim my spot as favourite parent.

Our highlight of the last week of holidays was a trip into the food court in town, where we bought every $5 kids meal on offer and set up a smorgasbord on the table. It was the “funnest lunch ever” according to Miss 11 and “such an embarrassment” according to Miss 17, so some core memories were made for sure. FYI, the waffles at Leaf Café are so good we’ll go back and pay full price for them next week.

* ”Oh my god they’ve eaten all the snacks I bought for school already and I’d rather stick a needle in my eye than go back to the supermarket.”

Last year at this time I was recovering from surgery and playing the cancer card as much as possible. This resulted in the amazing people in our lives cooking for us, and we had a freezer full of treats for the girls. No such luck this year, so I sent the girls on a walk to buy cake mix and some fruit. They came back with grapes, gluten free muffin mix (neither child is gluten intolerant), and Slurpees. However, they had a Slurpee for me as well, so I’ll allow it. Dear teachers: please don’t check their lunchboxes until about week sevenish. I’ll get my act together at some point I promise (I probably won’t).

* ”How is my dog going to cope without me?”

This one is hard. If I had a normal dog, I’d 100 per cent send her to Diesel and Blue Doggy Daycare, because I follow them on Facebook and it looks like so much fun. Unfortunately, my dog is an almost 12-year-old border collie who hates people, other dogs, and not being at home on her bed under the air conditioner. So, I guess I’m forced to work from home again this year. Sorry Jono.

* ”My babies are still teeny-tiny and I don’t want to let them go.”

This one is hard. It’s a lot less hard with Miss 11, because she loves school, learning, her classmates and her teachers so, so much. Miss 17 is going into Year 12 and would still rather be at home with me, even after all these years. I remind myself it’s good for her to go, she needs to be exposed to the world and the amazing teachers who have taught her over the years have done it with far more patience and skill than I could ever have.

If you are a new parent, or not so new like me, please know you are not alone in these thoughts. I wish you and your little people the best year, and I hope they grow, believe in themselves, and come home with lots of hugs at the end of the day. Take care of yourself this week. xxx