Oh I feel you lovely one. I feel this sense of deflated relief at the end of a Friday having ‘made it’… I’m still adjusting to the school admin which has blown my mind this last few months. I’m sending you love and grace and hugs xxxx
It sounds as if you’re jumping from one sheet of ice to another trying to avoid falling into the chilly water in between.
It helps to recognise you can’t do it all and to not feel guilty about the things you omit.
On that score I can recommend the book Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman (who is on Substack). Unbelievably that is the average human life span. No wonder we can’t fit in all the “should dos”!
Gosh, sounds like a tough week Claire, bravo for getting through all the frustrations! I love this image though, such a beautiful way to bundle it up: “Each night before I fall asleep, I put all the thoughts into a beautiful bright pink velvet chest that exists in my mind and send it on wheels down the valley.” I might give that a try….
School admin is just bonkers and the WhatsApp groups too that accompany it all. I tried and failed to keep up with it all and I accept now that it's inevitable I'll forget things or bring them on the wrong day but I'm OK with that. It's impossible to keep on top of it all. Especially this time of year with all the Xmas festivities. I deliberately forgot to bring in a bottle of booze for the Xmas fayre tombola in exchange for non uniform day, couldn't be bothered faffing to go to the shop before school! Just getting 3 kids up and dressed and getting 2 to school on time is enough of an achievement for me these days. Also huge congratulations to your son on being a published author, the first of many of his published works I'm sure ❤️
I hear you on the life admin overwhelm, Claire. Sometimes it feels like running just to stand still. I remember when my son was in his first year at nursery, the instruction from school about the nativity play, was that any animal costume would be fine. The only thing I could persuade him to wear on the day was his monkey onesie. The reverend who was narrating very graciously commented that he was sure he had read somewhere that there are monkeys in the Holy Land. I'm fairly sure he was making that up, but it made me feel a whole lot better, and shut up the six year old know-it-all who had been telling my little one that there are no monkeys in the Christmas story. I'm delighted that your son is thrilled to be a published author - so he should be!
I'm at the other end of school admin - sixth form open evenings, applications with different deadlines, a music teacher who thinks it's fine to post whatsapp messages at 10am on Sunday morning saying the Big Band is needed for something at 5pm the same day, and the terrible realisation that I outsourced the ironing to the local laundrette and the black shirt for Big Band is there until Tuesday.
School admin blows my mind. It gets a bit easier/ less emotional as they get older I think as it gets just more about exams and uniforms and stuff. I get what Dave was saying but also the frustration when you’ve put time and energy you don’t necessarily have into something for it to get missed. I feel hopelessly disorganised at the moment and my solution today was to do nothing at all as I just couldn’t even bear a to do list! ❤️❤️❤️
As a teacher, I have so much sympathy for the list of things your school require of you - because they’re expected of us as well.
I teach in a primary (elementary in the US) school and we have a different timetable for every class. Same subjects, just all delivered at different times. Heck knows why.
Then, when something changes, it’s chaos. Science fair, swimming week, staff absence… something every week needs to be moved.
And then we have to be in contact with parents about so much - PE kit reminders, lunch orders, upcoming trips, school events like the science fair and the talent show and the school play. This has all taken place in less than 11 weeks this year so far.
I guess the main frustration I have is whole school emails which could (in the subject line) be clear on whether or not it’s for our year group or not. And if I have an email I don’t need a text message to read and delete as well.
We’re all just trying our best and this piece was written about sending Grace more than anything because we all need way more of that. ✨
Oh Claire, I can definitely relate… I receive so many emails and text messages from both of my daughters schools, it is overwhelming. It is just so much information 😩 Sending love xx
It’s hard isn’t it. Like a part time decision making job? My son’s school is pretty good but Luna’s is so so much admin and of course you feel you need to read it right away “just incase”. I come out of my emails after I’ve answered them which helps but I need to WRITE all the things down. Saying that I booked tickets to see Paddington last weekend and missed it - I think I just need to be mush at the weekend. ✨✨
It is a part-time job, isn’t it? My eldest daughter’s school sends the most, one Sunday morning I received 10 emails that were auto-sent! Ten! And the information could have all been put in one complete email. And like you said, you don’t want to miss anything so you check it.
On a weekend?! Oh my days! I get the weekend’s off. My son’s school sends a Monday round up which I appreciate but sometimes if it’s county wide info or national I get emails from both schools with the same attachments - our poor brains!
Oh I feel you lovely one. I feel this sense of deflated relief at the end of a Friday having ‘made it’… I’m still adjusting to the school admin which has blown my mind this last few months. I’m sending you love and grace and hugs xxxx
It sounds as if you’re jumping from one sheet of ice to another trying to avoid falling into the chilly water in between.
It helps to recognise you can’t do it all and to not feel guilty about the things you omit.
On that score I can recommend the book Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman (who is on Substack). Unbelievably that is the average human life span. No wonder we can’t fit in all the “should dos”!
Gosh, sounds like a tough week Claire, bravo for getting through all the frustrations! I love this image though, such a beautiful way to bundle it up: “Each night before I fall asleep, I put all the thoughts into a beautiful bright pink velvet chest that exists in my mind and send it on wheels down the valley.” I might give that a try….
School admin is just bonkers and the WhatsApp groups too that accompany it all. I tried and failed to keep up with it all and I accept now that it's inevitable I'll forget things or bring them on the wrong day but I'm OK with that. It's impossible to keep on top of it all. Especially this time of year with all the Xmas festivities. I deliberately forgot to bring in a bottle of booze for the Xmas fayre tombola in exchange for non uniform day, couldn't be bothered faffing to go to the shop before school! Just getting 3 kids up and dressed and getting 2 to school on time is enough of an achievement for me these days. Also huge congratulations to your son on being a published author, the first of many of his published works I'm sure ❤️
I hear you on the life admin overwhelm, Claire. Sometimes it feels like running just to stand still. I remember when my son was in his first year at nursery, the instruction from school about the nativity play, was that any animal costume would be fine. The only thing I could persuade him to wear on the day was his monkey onesie. The reverend who was narrating very graciously commented that he was sure he had read somewhere that there are monkeys in the Holy Land. I'm fairly sure he was making that up, but it made me feel a whole lot better, and shut up the six year old know-it-all who had been telling my little one that there are no monkeys in the Christmas story. I'm delighted that your son is thrilled to be a published author - so he should be!
I'm at the other end of school admin - sixth form open evenings, applications with different deadlines, a music teacher who thinks it's fine to post whatsapp messages at 10am on Sunday morning saying the Big Band is needed for something at 5pm the same day, and the terrible realisation that I outsourced the ironing to the local laundrette and the black shirt for Big Band is there until Tuesday.
School admin blows my mind. It gets a bit easier/ less emotional as they get older I think as it gets just more about exams and uniforms and stuff. I get what Dave was saying but also the frustration when you’ve put time and energy you don’t necessarily have into something for it to get missed. I feel hopelessly disorganised at the moment and my solution today was to do nothing at all as I just couldn’t even bear a to do list! ❤️❤️❤️
I did the list after I cried. Now I’m writing Christmas cards. ❣️
As a teacher, I have so much sympathy for the list of things your school require of you - because they’re expected of us as well.
I teach in a primary (elementary in the US) school and we have a different timetable for every class. Same subjects, just all delivered at different times. Heck knows why.
Then, when something changes, it’s chaos. Science fair, swimming week, staff absence… something every week needs to be moved.
And then we have to be in contact with parents about so much - PE kit reminders, lunch orders, upcoming trips, school events like the science fair and the talent show and the school play. This has all taken place in less than 11 weeks this year so far.
❤️
Yeah it’s a lot. You guys do a great job.
I guess the main frustration I have is whole school emails which could (in the subject line) be clear on whether or not it’s for our year group or not. And if I have an email I don’t need a text message to read and delete as well.
We’re all just trying our best and this piece was written about sending Grace more than anything because we all need way more of that. ✨
Oh Claire, I can definitely relate… I receive so many emails and text messages from both of my daughters schools, it is overwhelming. It is just so much information 😩 Sending love xx
It’s hard isn’t it. Like a part time decision making job? My son’s school is pretty good but Luna’s is so so much admin and of course you feel you need to read it right away “just incase”. I come out of my emails after I’ve answered them which helps but I need to WRITE all the things down. Saying that I booked tickets to see Paddington last weekend and missed it - I think I just need to be mush at the weekend. ✨✨
It is a part-time job, isn’t it? My eldest daughter’s school sends the most, one Sunday morning I received 10 emails that were auto-sent! Ten! And the information could have all been put in one complete email. And like you said, you don’t want to miss anything so you check it.
On a weekend?! Oh my days! I get the weekend’s off. My son’s school sends a Monday round up which I appreciate but sometimes if it’s county wide info or national I get emails from both schools with the same attachments - our poor brains!