End of summer sadness. I cant be the only one.

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I hate the holidays being over. I like my family at home and I love the light nights and days out.

I work full time as does dh but we always try to get time off in the summer. Every year the children go back, the nights get dark and my mood goes down, anxiety goes up. I struggle. This is the first year I'm on anti depressants in readiness for the slump. Everyone else seems to like the children going back and the change in season but I don't. I feel sad. I feel loss hitting me hard and I feel I don't cope well. I can't be alone in this. Tonight I could cry as my family is broken up again and swallowed into work and school. I am so lucky to have everything I have and I want to be grateful not sad.

How do others make the transition. Teach me how to do it better.

Hmm I wonder how many of you have 3 children 7 years and under AND are SAHM mums?

I did at one point. I still hated sending hem back to school as I hate the rigid routine, the prospect of shit weather and the darkness.

My kids went back to school 2 weeks ago. Youngest just started and I am heartbroken. I also love my kids being at home, they drive me nuts but I love it. I work from home so I'm still here without them. Makes me really sad.

Yes to dosing up on vitamin d.

Days out, activities, relaxing at home doesn’t have to stop now. I know it’s not the same as it is in the summer but there’s still
Plenty you can do. Just shift stuff to the weekend.
Half term is only a few weeks away.
Look forward and organise stuff.

Me as well, OP. Just getting ready for INSET now, dc go back tomorrow. We've had a lovely, lazy summer off.

I think what I don't like most is that once the academic year starts, it seems to fly by and before I know it, they are another year older.

I've always hated autumn and winter. For horrible reasons. I have ptsd and the trauma took place autumn and winter. Anyway after yrs of therapy, I still struggle some but what helps is really embracing the time of yr. And also stuff like, getting out and about daily. Going places at the weekends to ensure we still have fun, like we did over summer. We have picnics still, though often in the car, we go on walks and go to the park and the beach. We go to places of interest indoors like museums at the weekends and we take train rides. We go to shows as well.
Plan things to look forward to and embrace the season. It works for me

I feel the same and we didn't have an amazing school holidays.

DD10 anxiety went through the roof and set of tons of the worst austistic meltdowns she has ever had so we cancelled the holiday we were supposed to be going on and now I feel like I let down DD10 and DS16 by not pushing forward with the holiday and to top it all off DD is going back a day earlier than usual I could bloody cry!

But I'm praying that she'll better today so I can at least take DD10 and DS16 to the seaside for the day tomorrow.

Beachview you are right. I must refocus otherwise I'm going to get swallowed up in it.

I was a sahm for years and always thought a job would ease the pain. It's now just different. I'm back to an office job of sat I side 8 hours a day. I'm loving sitting outside reading books. Watching the ds play out with friends. I resent having to make all the food, do all the school runs and give up my time to work and run a home. My DH works such long hours that he can't help much. I'm learning that I obviously need to make more time for me.

It's like you've all said, it's the hamster wheel that I hate. It makes me tired and takes away the enjoyment of my children who are growing up so fast. We get cross other each other. Family days out and meals together need to be planned

I have a light box and it helps. Forgot about vit d but will get some today and start. Everyone else has started on vitamins but I'd forgotten about me as usual.

I love boots and smart autumn clothes so that's something to invest in as well as getting my house in order. Got alot of jobs to do.

I normally love autumn but agree with others on here that as this has been a "proper" summer, it's harder somehow. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't function in the extreme heat, but oh how depressing to anticipate the mornings and nights drawing in. I don't like intense heat in the summer, but I love the light!

I feel very low today. It's overcast and grey and I am doing the ironing. Enough said!

I feel pretty much all the feelings at the end of the summer holidays. Sad that it's over for another year and it's a marker of the kids growing ever older as they move up a school year. Happy that we'll have some kind of routine back in place and I'll get a bit of space from them so I can enjoy them more. I miss the summer yet love the autumn. So I pretty much identify with everyone!

and sorry to have to mention this.....but in many ways it gets worse as they get older. my youngest will be going back to uni, 5 hours away, so i will be by myself all week in the house (husband returns at weekends) with just the dog for company

I'm exactly the same. It's just something about autumn and winter. Getting up (and often leaving the house) when it's still dark, wrapping up in endless scarves and coats and gloves, still being turned into the human equivalent of a frozen fish finger, having to shed layers just to sit down, not warming up even after being in the house for hours. Last winter was so long and cold so it was really hard for me, I only really picked up again in April. It feels like it's gone so quickly, but I know the winter will drag again.

mrsjackrussell Thanks, will have a look.

I am sad because it's the end of an era. Ds starts school a week today. We have had the most amazing summer.
I work 3 days a week and next summer will be scrambling to find childcare all summer whereas for the past few years he's just carried on at nursery for the 3 days which has been much easier and gives me two days to take him out without his usual pre school groups on.
Part of me can't wait to get some time to myself on my non working days but I'm going to miss ds so much. Everything now is going to be school holidays and weekends only, no quiet trips to farms, parks, term time holidays etc.
The good news is reception at his school starts a week late due to building work so I've still got him for another week which I've taken off work. Dh has Thursday and Friday off and we are having one last "term time" trip away.....

Do we need to start taking Vit D already? I have some left over from last winter (swore by it) but was thinking with all this sun I wouldn't need it yet. But should I start to take it now before the days shorten even more?

I don't mind dark evenings but hate dark mornings. I am up at 5 for work so it's been dark for a couple of weeks now. It makes getting up so much harder.

However I have no kids so am off on my summer holiday on Friday to the south of France so a bit more sun to look forward to still!

My friend and I always say we love autumn and winter as we have so many happy memories from that time of the year.
Things like kicking up leaves in the parks, looking for conkers, going to fireworks displays, playing in the snow, feeding the ducks even though our fingers were frozen, playing in the snow.
I think it’s harder if you don’t have so many happy memories but it’s also important to make sure your children don’t grow up thinking it’s a horrible time of year and feeling miserable about it.

In the nicest possible way I'm glad to have found this thread. Hygge book burning party at mine? At least it will keep us warm 😂

I am glad it's over a but also sad. It has been a lovely summer.

We have a fabulous holiday to look forward too in October half term which helps.

Younger dd behaviour has been v hard to manage so in that respect I'm glad she's back at school.

I feel like I live my life counting down to the next school break - I'm incredibly sad that summer ends tomorrow and will miss the relaxed summer household as so many of you have said.
I'm trying to look forward to cosy evenings and crisp mornings but in reality I'll just slog it out until next year

I understand what you mean but I love the dark nights with my family, me and dh finish work at 5 so then we all have dinner and either watch a film or play board games at least one night a week and always try to make it twice. We love this and also I can't help but look forward to the Christmas holidays with them too

I can relate to the sad feelings of summer ending.

Autumn term is not actually a bad one as it goes (I find jan and Feb just hideous!) as there are things to look forward to like Halloween and I always make sure I go away at October half term. We’re lucky enough to have my family in spain so since ds1, who’s 6, started school have been going every half term and big holiday. But I really do count down the days until the next break. I work from home and find the routine of school 5 days a week really binding and restrictive.

On the plus side we have perhaps had too many late nights over the summer and some element of routine and structure might be good for all of us!

I just make sure that we also all have a lot to look forward to - days out with kids, nights out with friends, museums and concerts etc.

I hate the boys going back to school, not just after the summer holidays, but after every break. I always have to put on a brave face to try not to have a negative impact on them.

Apart from doing some part time work for a few years I have been a SAHM for most of the last 17 years and dh has worked full time, he takes holiday in school holidays as much as possible so when he's been off at the end of holidays a lot of the time he and the 4 boys have gone back to work/school on the same day. Suddenly it goes from 6 of us at home to just me in an empty house. Miss them so much and want them back!

This holiday ds4 has gone back to primary today (sob), ds3 starts yr 7 at secondary tomorrow (their secondary has years 7 and 12 in one day then the other years start a day later) and the other two teenagers start years 11 and 13 on Thursday, so a gradual start, meaning the house doesn't go suddenly empty this year, I will see if that makes it any easier on me.

Unfortunately ds4 (8) is my p(last)b and it has been harder to let him go than the others. We have had 2 days of him saying he doesn't want to go back to school, then having something akin to night terrors gone 11 o'clock last night so he was reluctant to go to school for his first day back today, makes it harder for me too. Also, his birthday was on Sept 1st, so he had the excitement of that then has to go back to school, poor thing.

We are all already looking forward to the half term holidays.

OP i agree. I'm also sad about the 'hamster wheel' of life starting back up again after a summer of freedom, play and sunshine. Every year i feel like i'm losing my DC back into the grip of the education system. Am dreading the homework (they're only 5&7!), the to-ing and fro-ing to school, clubs etc, the politics of school/playground and the pressure.

That said, in life you have to take the rough with the smooth. Life can't be all beach days and fun days out with no responsibility. This is what I am telling myself right now as we make the adjustment back to school and work routines. I agree with the previous poster too that some structure and routine is good for us. I actually think that my DC were ready in a way to get back to it.

I second the Vitamin D and light box ideas. I bring mine out every year around October but i'm actually thinking of starting now this year! I miss that intense sunshine. Big hugs OP and everyone else struggling x

Love this thread. I love the summer holidays too. DD gets 8-9 weeks off and it flies by. I try to take time off and we travel or just hang out. I love spending time with her.

We are also so much more relaxed...breakfast in bed and no 6 am get ups! School pick up is also a nightmare for working parents.

Thankfully I live in a warm country, I couldn’t cope with cold too.

Thanks for starting this thread OP, it’s nice to know I’m not alone...my social media feeds are full of people counting down until the holidays are over!

I'm another one who hates the back-to-school feeling. I want to hold onto summer as long as possible. This year it's execererbated by DD1 leaving for uni. I'm excited for her but dreading her going