Just call me "Mama Bird"

I'm feeling a little clucky.

In less than four weeks, my littlest monkey will be starting big school.  When I tell people this, most rejoice and exclaim, "Oh, lucky you, all three at school." But I have mixed feelings.
No more will I have a little hand in tow on "Mummy and Hope days"  to hold onto through the car park, buy a happy meal for so I can steal the chips and listen to endless hours of ABC Kids program in the background as I cook up more yellow playdough.

My sister has even suggested I hold her back a year. I toyed with this for a few seconds, but mummy guilt barreled over those thoughts with one fell swoop.

She'll start school, love it, terrorise the kids, charm the teachers and learn very quickly which ice-blocks she likes most at the canteen.

For all those who think I'll have ALL this spare time now to have mini-facials and laser hair removal, think again. Mummy will have more uniforms to wash, shoes to polish, sight-words to run through EVERY night, a Deb Ball to prepare for, a zillion kids birthday parties to attend, more parents names to learn and which kid belongs to them, sports carnivals, fundraisers,  and umpteenth "dates to remember".

If you have kids at home, relish this time. You don't have a certain time to get dressed by, have breakfast gobbled up, hair brushed, bags packed or the the inevitable splitting apart of little, squabbling girls who insist their sister has hidden their library books. When you have school-aged children, by the time 8.45am rolls round and you kick your kids out of the (sometimes still moving car) just in time for the bell, you're already exhausted.

Oh, and by the way, while doing all of this - choosing whichever outfit is least crumpled, taming the fraggle hair and trying to apply mascara without poking out an eye.

And once this mean feat is complete, arrive at work by 9am and to do an 8 hour shift.

Actually, please ignore the first few pars of this post, I take it all back. I do not feel clucky or sad, I am now having an anxiety attack over how the beepity-beep I'm gonna manage all this!!!

OK, someone hand me a brown paper bag and tell me to breath deeply .....