Subscriber Chat: How's back-to-school going?
Time for a monthly subscriber chat and ask me anything session!
Welcome to this month’s Subscriber Chat! My monthly subscriber chat is unique because it’s the only time I allow comments from non-paid subscribers. And these comments won’t show up in your social media feeds, which means you can safely say whatever you want without your husband, mother-in-law, or boss seeing it. Feel free to comment anonymously.
This is the space to discuss whatever is on your mind, to ask for advice from the community, and to ask me anything. It’s also a great place to share anything you’d like me to write about over the next few weeks!
Every month, I ask a starter question to get discussion going. But you don’t have to answer it! You can talk about anything at all that’s on your mind! This is a great place to ask me anything you want to know, to pitch article topics, and to lean on the wisdom of this community.
So…how’s back-to-school going?
Where I live, back-to-school inexplicably starts during the last week of July, which means kids here in the Deep South are attending school at a time when it’s too hot to safely go outside. So preparations have largely consisted of ensuring my daughter understands that she can always ask to get out of the heat, and that no grown-up’s preferences should ever trump her body’s needs.
What are you thinking about as your kids prepare? Are your partners stepping up? If you’re childless, are you investing in your community by helping parents during this time of transition? Teachers, how are you doing?
Join the chat in the comments.
My youngest (of 4) is starting her senior year of college. So it’s been a few years since I’ve dealt with back-to-school. But the thing I remember most vividly is the financial stress of having to buy supplies and clothing for four kids, with a partner who was habitually unemployed and didn’t think we should spend any money on that. And then after we divorced, he refused to contribute financially to the back-to-school expenses because “that’s what child support is for.” (And I have to add that he was chronically late with child support and missed more payments than he made.) There were years that we had to rely on our local free school supply drives, which was embarassing to both me and my kids because these events were staffed by parents of their friends and classmates. And I always felt sad that my kids had to go to school with cheap, basic supplies and clothing instead of what the other kids had. It made me feel like a failure. Having a shitty partner is the gift that keeps on giving, so to speak. It affects every aspect of your life and your children’s. Preparing them for school becomes something to dread and fear instead of something to celebrate, and that’s really sad. My heart goes out to others who are experiencing this.
School starts Wednesday where I live, so I have gotten all the school supplies and uniforms ready myself. I'm glad you mentioned the heat. I need to talk to my daughter about drinking enough water at school. My husband and I are separating and plan to tell our daughter after the first full week of school, so next weekend (at the recommendation of her therapist). I'm expecting this to be a tough school year with that situation and also third grade is just a little more difficult in general.