"Busy"
I really dislike that term yet I find myself using it all the time. What does "busy" really mean? We all have the same amount of time granted to us each and every day. Its not like it's a race to see who can be busier. I suspect each persons perspectives on "busy" would differ based on where they are at in their life. It's just an easy term to throw out there when life has you on the go. On the go with all things that we've agreed to and enjoy I might add.
Speaking of, I just cracked open a book titled "Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life" that our Principal has loaned to me. I'm only a few pages in but it looks like an interesting read. Sadly, I'm not one to enjoy reading as a hobby so I hope I stick with it!
It's always been a priority for us to not over schedule our kids. Sure, we want them to be involved in organized sports, activities & clubs. But we also value the opportunity to be spontaneous and free. We've always avoided overlapping activities. But at the ripe old age of 8, it seems like we've hit the magic age that this gets more complicated. Seriously, EIGHT! It seems like the activities are more intense and have a greater time commitment. Thankfully the girls only have an interest in swim team! It feels good to have found a sport that they really are passionate about.
We're also trying to balance the needs and schedules so Mr. Spencer isn't drug all over the place due to the girls schedule. That's a tough one that we are still trying to figure out! At times I feel at peace with our efforts and other times I've got huge momma guilt.
The girls had their first fall swim meet this past weekend in Norfolk. It was a great day of swimming! It was the first time we've ever had to get the entire family up and out of the house at the crack of dawn. Due to the above mentioned momma guilt we went back and forth on who would actually go to this event. Not to mention our newly added responsibilities of Mr. Mason. But in the end it ended up being a great decision for all of us to go. Spencer enjoyed a really long day of playing various pickup games in the gym. He had no qualms about asking the big kids if he could play whatever they were playing and he made some friend along the way. I know he loves the time we shoot hoops or play kick ball in the gym. He finally had met his match and these kids were in it for the long haul, far longer than I would last!
I know for other families it may be a regular occurrence to get the family up and going in the wee morning hours, but for us it is not. We regularly have a hard time making it to Sunday School by 9:30. :) For this day, our goal was to leave by 6:45am and we were pretty darn close! It all went much smoother than we anticipated. The kids thought it was weird to go in their jammies! One of the highlights of the morning was watching the sun come up. Of course by the end of the 12 hour day we were all exhausted, particularly the adults. The kids of course didn't crash until their heads hit their pillows.
PTA related... I've just made it through 5 big events since the start of school with 1 more small event and 4 more really huge events coming up in the next few weeks. November is my key event, one that I added to our calendar just last year. It's a month where we focus on Healthy Lifestyles with each week of the month taking a different theme. I'm hoping it will go as great as it did last year! Once I get through November we'll be set. Thanks to school breaks we've got a nice little break from PTA stuff in December and January. We can't be fooled by these breaks though! The February deadlines sneak up on us rather quick!
In our down time we are enjoying the College Football season! It's a time of year we always look forward to but not always have we been able to kick back and enjoy the games. As the kids continue to get older we find ourselves able to enjoy such luxuries while they thoroughly enjoy their down time with hobbies that are of interest to them. Which means that they either are reading or have covered the dining table and a solid 5' perimeter in various art materials. It's worth it though!
Speaking of, I just cracked open a book titled "Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life" that our Principal has loaned to me. I'm only a few pages in but it looks like an interesting read. Sadly, I'm not one to enjoy reading as a hobby so I hope I stick with it!
It's always been a priority for us to not over schedule our kids. Sure, we want them to be involved in organized sports, activities & clubs. But we also value the opportunity to be spontaneous and free. We've always avoided overlapping activities. But at the ripe old age of 8, it seems like we've hit the magic age that this gets more complicated. Seriously, EIGHT! It seems like the activities are more intense and have a greater time commitment. Thankfully the girls only have an interest in swim team! It feels good to have found a sport that they really are passionate about.
We're also trying to balance the needs and schedules so Mr. Spencer isn't drug all over the place due to the girls schedule. That's a tough one that we are still trying to figure out! At times I feel at peace with our efforts and other times I've got huge momma guilt.
The girls had their first fall swim meet this past weekend in Norfolk. It was a great day of swimming! It was the first time we've ever had to get the entire family up and out of the house at the crack of dawn. Due to the above mentioned momma guilt we went back and forth on who would actually go to this event. Not to mention our newly added responsibilities of Mr. Mason. But in the end it ended up being a great decision for all of us to go. Spencer enjoyed a really long day of playing various pickup games in the gym. He had no qualms about asking the big kids if he could play whatever they were playing and he made some friend along the way. I know he loves the time we shoot hoops or play kick ball in the gym. He finally had met his match and these kids were in it for the long haul, far longer than I would last!
I know for other families it may be a regular occurrence to get the family up and going in the wee morning hours, but for us it is not. We regularly have a hard time making it to Sunday School by 9:30. :) For this day, our goal was to leave by 6:45am and we were pretty darn close! It all went much smoother than we anticipated. The kids thought it was weird to go in their jammies! One of the highlights of the morning was watching the sun come up. Of course by the end of the 12 hour day we were all exhausted, particularly the adults. The kids of course didn't crash until their heads hit their pillows.
PTA related... I've just made it through 5 big events since the start of school with 1 more small event and 4 more really huge events coming up in the next few weeks. November is my key event, one that I added to our calendar just last year. It's a month where we focus on Healthy Lifestyles with each week of the month taking a different theme. I'm hoping it will go as great as it did last year! Once I get through November we'll be set. Thanks to school breaks we've got a nice little break from PTA stuff in December and January. We can't be fooled by these breaks though! The February deadlines sneak up on us rather quick!
In our down time we are enjoying the College Football season! It's a time of year we always look forward to but not always have we been able to kick back and enjoy the games. As the kids continue to get older we find ourselves able to enjoy such luxuries while they thoroughly enjoy their down time with hobbies that are of interest to them. Which means that they either are reading or have covered the dining table and a solid 5' perimeter in various art materials. It's worth it though!
Labels: Fall, Family, Kid Activities
posted by Sonya at 3:31 PM
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