My son goes back to school tomorrow after nearly three weeks of winter break. I have loved having him home everyday, watching as his imagination explodes right in front of me and savoring the sweet, but fleeting moments when he and his younger sister play together without fighting over some silly toy no one cares about until the other one has it. But setting all ooshy-gushy emotions aside, we’re all ready for the return to our normal routine. We don’t have a fenced-in yard, and my kid is a sensory-seeking fool. One of my goals is to follow through on my long-time plan of getting him evaluated for occupational therapy so we can get him on what’s called a “sensory diet,” but for now, he’s c-r-a-z-y. As we’ve neared the end of break, he’s literally been climbing furniture, jumping onto and off of every available surface in the house, wrestling with his much smaller sister (who is pretty scrappy and holds her own, but still), and generally leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. And then there’s the incessant whining because he’s expected to stop jumping on furniture and/or people, and how unfair is that? I am very unreasonable that way.

Also, I. am. over it. It’s past time for him to get outside and burn off some of this energy, and I’m unable to give him much of that at home during week because my two younger children make it a far more daunting task than I’d prefer to tackle on my own. His dad doesn’t get home until after dark during the long days of winter… so when he’s stuck at home, outside play remains a weekend treat. Thankfully, his school is heavy on outdoor time, no matter the weather, and thus, tomorrow promises (the beginning of) a return to sanity for all of us.

Given the seasonal madness in effect at our house, sometimes, the most calm I can manage in a day is planning ahead to make sure the next one isn’t crazier than it has to be. I did a couple of loads of laundry today and managed to get all of his school gear laid out and ready for the morning. This is a ritual I developed when he started school in August, and since I’m a high-level procrastinator by nature, I suspect I only manage it because a) it helps my husband when he’s in the thick of his morning brain fog, and b) there is extra sleep on the line. I’m very fortunate because my husband gets the boy ready and takes him to school before heading to work, so I don’t even have to get out of bed so long as I help ease their morning routine and timeline by getting everything ready the night before. It’s definitely worth the extra effort.

Tomorrow, my first moment of calm will be sleeping in snuggled up with my two girls, if all goes well. Today, I think looking forward to tomorrow is my hint of calm. Plus, I got about three extra hours of sleep last night, which means the fact that I’m not a morning person wasn’t at the front of my mind immediately upon waking. It was a nice change; perhaps I’ll have to try and make getting to bed by midnight one of my go-to strategies for the YoC. Since it’s 11:58, I better get on that.