In just a couple of weeks, students will be swarming out of their relieved parents’ homes in Powder Springs and Lithia Springs, and into awaiting schools, ready to start a new year and reconnect with old friends.

My kids have mixed feelings about it—especially my high school sophomore, who, even as I type, is frantically tapping at his own keyboard, trying to crank out a much-delayed essay for gifted English. 

Other kids around town are doing last-minute reading that was optimistically suggested by their teachers as the children departed for what they thought would be an endless summer.

Time’s up. Or nearly. And not just for the kids.

My own plans to get my children back on track—and into some good organizational habits—never seemed to pick up steam. Maybe it had something to do with my somewhat futile efforts to keep
my son away from his computer game, “Steam.”

Then again, threats to withhold said game are exactly what it took to get him to finish that essay.

Many teachers worry about the “lag” in learning that pops up after vacation and try to give guidelines to students and parents to combat it, such as recommended reading.

My son chose to put off his recommended reading and spend time with his computer. I could be worried, but along with learning some new games, he taught himself some computer programming skills that will come in handy in his upcoming high school courses. 

My middle schooler isn’t as stressed about upcoming studies as she is about her school wardrobe. Ah, yes. The joys of a mom trying to outfit her newly-teen daughter for the school year without blowing her budget or her cool.

An impossible task, you say? You’d be right.

After two shopping trips and three arguments, I sent her out with her dad. Amazingly, he returned and was still speaking to me. Maybe because he went shopping for himself while he was at it.

My next task is to go over lists of school items needed for each class (provided for my daughter, but not for my son) and guesstimate what they’ll require that didn’t make the list.

I’m seeing a midnight emergency trip to Walmart in my future.

My other last-ditch effort will be to convince both teens that midnight is not their regular bedtime. Kids need plenty of sleep—at least 8 to 10 hours each night—to be alert in the classroom.

I’ve been spending the past week trying to get them to bed earlier; the experts would tell me that I never should have let them stay up later to being with.

The experts obviously never heard of a two-day sleepover, which was the highlight of my son’s summer, as well as his friends’.

Truth is, kids really do need a break from their studies from time to time. Then it’s the parents turn for a break.