We have officially entered transition to school territory.
This is what it looks like:
2 one-hour sessions at school, perfectly placed in the middle of the day.
A graduation at the forest kindergarten (in the early afternoon)
A graduation at the pre-school (perfectly placed in the middle of the day).
A dress rehearsal for the latter (morning)
3 parent meetings, two of which are also during my working day.
That's a total of 7 half days during my working week (they always fall on my working days of course) in one month. Which will be followed by a full 3 weeks of part time schooling in August. Transition to school is definitely not made for the working parent. If I miss out, the school will have me down as a non caring or even bad parent. But really, it's all a bit much even with the best of will.
I'm losing my hair fast and quick. How do working parents manage? There is a real chance that I will have to send Cubling to her big graduation at pre-school by herself because daddy is abroad and there's a REALLY IMPORTANT training day on, that I'm sure many think I shouldn't or even mustn't miss.
Of course, I'd rather be at her graduation, then find out all about data protection (which is very important for my job, no doubt). Be there for an important day in her life, or be at a training session which in theory can be repeated but in practice may well not be. Either way I feel bad.
Now can someone make a decision for me AND make me feel ok with that decision? My head is hurting big time and I can't think anymore.
3 comments:
Whatever you do will be ok. The school info will probably be repeated a dozen times so I'd miss that or ask for a five minute meeting one day with the head teacher, a good HT will do this for youy. The induction days although good are not the be all and end all, not everyone will go and the kids won't make best friends there do cubling will be fine. Graduation, erm you are on your own with that one!
I have to miss Hugh's preschool graduation because I have to give a conference paper that morning. The conference is here in Dublin and I wasn't planning to go to all of it, so it's very annoying that the one bit I absolutely cannot miss clashes with a special occasion for Hugh. My husband can go but, well, I wanted to be there... I feel much sympathy for you in your hair-tearing.
I keep thinking there is no such thing as a work -life/family balance. It's more like a tightrope walk, or a tug of war. Fortunately I spoke to an understanding person who decided that my daughter's graduation was more important. Just as well, the nursery were already pulling me aside ... Dot, at least Ken can be there, so that's something even if you have to miss it!
Clair, if I'd known what the induction sessions were like, I'd have missed them. I didn't find them useful at all, though that had a lot to do with my daughter's personality.
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