Back to school means back to activities for DD; not sure if I'm looking forward to it or not

[KatyMac]

School starts next Thursday, next Saturday OOS classes are back to normal

DD has had 3 weeks of summer school plus about 8 hours of dance a week; from next Saturday that reverts to 18 hrs a week (only 14.5 dance the rest choir)

I'm all a bit about it atm

But I'm sure I'll be back in the swing of it soon I don't really have the choice

I know how you feel.

Cheer up, you've managed last year, you'll be fine this year.

It's all "such fun" realy .

Do you do a lot of driving/waiting around?

Sounds familiar. May be time to come up with some ideas of doings something new while waiting. Learn a new language? You can listen to CDs in the car..
Actually, thats a good idea, I might give it a go myself

I know exactly how you feel too and the taxi-ing and hanging around is mind-numbingly boring. We have five hours swim and that will increase and approximately 14/15 hours minimum of choir. Then there are the music lessons with one taking up to a four hour round trip for a one hour lesson. There are three instruments, theory lessons, two orchestras and maybe another instrument.

The annoying thing is that we could condense a number of activities into two full days but he's insisting on doing it this way!

Choir master has just emailed a long and ridiculously daft list of rehearsals for various events. All at slightly different times or of different lengths to be super helpful.

DD is also in the school choir and they always clash in the run up to Christmas.

School also may or may not bother to tell us what's going on when.

Lots of waiting around, mostly in village halls but sometimes in the car; I like the idea of learning a language - but generally I take the laptop & do work

I also feel they all clash & "School also may or may not bother to tell us what's going on when" is SO, SO true

Yep we have lessons in London which necessitate that sort of trip (but fortunately not weekly)

& it irks me when people say "you must love it really" um no - it's something I 'have' to do, not doing it would make me a bad parent as she has the opportunity lots of children don't get; but no I don't actually love sitting in the car in December for 2.25 hours waiting for her to come out.

I've had the "how can you get bored in London?" comments. Well, eight hours every Saturday and I can easily get bored!

Oh the London lessons don't engender boredom for us just a large train/petrol bill and a meal out but the regular into town 4 times a week do

I'm dreading this too.

I have also been bored stiff in London for many Saturdays (and on the 2 1/2 hr train journey each way. But you're right, it isn't a choice, it's not fun for me or for my benefit but something I have to do for DD. people think I'm mad!

Genuine question...how do you do it? Do you all have 1 or 2 children? I have 4 and there is no way so much time could be given over to one child's ferrying around.

I am not being critical just nosey it would be impossible for me to dedicate a Saturday to one child - dh nearly always working as he's a musician - so I'd have to drag the other 3 with me.

DD is youngest of three by far, the other two have left school, otherwise no, I would not have been able to give so much time.

It has been a bit of a self fulfilling prophesy, in that, the more she does, the more she needs to do. And to enable her to continue means I have to make bigger and bigger sacrifices.

We just have DD & it only really took off this last year so at 13 (nearly 14) she was able to get herself places to some extent

I work very full-time but DH is medically retired and if he wasn't she wouldn't do half (or even a quarter) of what she does; but then if he wasn't medically retired I wouldn't work very full-time so maybe she would