The month of October has sped by at a ridiculousness speed! This family of seven has been inundated with an over active hockey schedule (5 kids, 4 teams, 2 teams practice 4 times a week). An intense karate schedule (3 day black belt testing for 5 of us and now tournament this weekend for 6 of us.) Add in Halloween, parties, and one night where we could have gotten in classes and practices...now rescheduled because of trick-or-treating (by the organizations...not the parents.)
Today I came home after 1 1/2 hours in the car driving kids to school just to take a rest. My body is worn out and I'm a cranky mommy! The kitchen is a mess, the house looks worse, laundry is piled up, and go figure...I can't get my kids out of bed.
STOP!
A part of being an adult is getting it all done. But what we forget is if we are this tired, and we've been used to these kinds of schedules for a very long time, how must our kids feel?
Sure they are doing what they love to do. Hockey is their love. Karate is their discipline. Choir... orchestra...volunteering...etc.etc.etc. The list goes on and on for these kids!
Adults have some options (some times.) Flex days. Personal days. Work from home. What about our kids? I'm a bit old school sometimes. We have friends who will let their children sleep in if they need it. Take a day here and there, if they need it. I fight myself over it. On one hand, yes, I think kids should get that option. Especially the kids who are so busy, because they want to be. However, on the other hand, I fight with myself... you can't just take off from school!!!
Did I get to do this as a kid? ONCE! I was fifteen! Most years I had perfect attendance. However, my youngest son is seven and so busy... trust me, at seven I only had piano for one half hour on Thursdays and Brownies on Wednesdays after school. Back in the late 70's and 80's there was no homework...are you kidding me? Homework was for high school! Now my little guys have had homework since kindergarten.
If as adults we are as busy as we are and we weren't when we were children, where are our children going to end up? Maybe they won't notice that life swirls around them at a maddening pace. Maybe that'll be the norm. Then again, maybe they will learn to balance fun and work since their life is fun with a lot of work.
I guess in the end I just hope they're happy and say, "Wow, Mom and Dad got us everywhere we wanted to go. They sure are great!"
Yep...that's all I can hope for. When they are grown...I'll take a nap.
This is a great post. Balance is one of the things we don't seem to have, when in the workforce. Our employer doesn't care if we are overworked, typically. So, learning when to skip a practice, or a school day, if it doesn't make a goal unattainable, is also a good skill. A rest in the middle of our hectic schedule can actually make one more productive. Knowing when to take that break to recharge and not hurt a schedule is key.
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