It’s that time of year again, the kids are back to school. I’m quite proud and surprised to say that I’ve survived the summer holidays. Now I love my kids with all my heart, they are the reason I get up in the morning, the reason I live and breath but I’m not ashamed to admit that sometimes mummy needs a break!

Juggling 8 weeks of no routine through the summer is tough, especially when you work full time too. There is a lot of reliance on the goodwill of grandparents, other mums and the use of summer clubs to help you get through the holiday weeks and we have used all of these this summer. I honestly don’t know where we would be without my parents. They are quite frankly amazing and thankfully they quite like their grandchildren, good job really!  Even when my mum got her dates through for a heart operation this summer, her first thoughts were how was it going to affect our childcare. Really Mum? Your health is far more important. But that’s just the way she is, my dad and my mum truly love having their grandchildren around and love spending time with them. We are so lucky.

So will I miss my kids when I wave them off at the school gates on Thursday? Of course I’ll miss them a little bit but having some space where I’m just me, just Hannah and not “Mum” is so important to me. I believe spending time away from my children makes me a better mum, a more patient Mum and it most definitely helps my mental health!! In my opinion school is so important, it not only teaches children the basics of maths, English and a wealth of other subjects, it also teaches them how to socialise, how to adapt, how to be tolerant and how to be independent.  After all one day they will be out there in the big world on their own and although I will always be there for my children, I will be comforted knowing that I have raised 3 nice, happy, independent and caring human beings!