We're in the thick of "May Madness" right now: School is winding down and the end-of-year activities are winding up--waaaay up! I've turned into what Pamela Druckerman says the French scornfully call "Maman-Taxi"--the crazed mom who shuttles the kids from one activity to another. I can barely figure out how I'm going to get my son from after-school play practice to his baseball game, with my daughter's piano lesson sandwiched in between. Taxi-Mom indeed!
I really dislike the idea of over-scheduling kids (never mind myself), because I remember my own childhood as being relatively low-key. I took ballet and piano lessons, but I had LOTS of free time for playing outdoors after school. And yet, here we are today: Tightly booked.
But the good thing about being temporarily over-booked is that it helps us to see what can fall away. To see which activities give us the most joy and which ones are just time-drains.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with my daughter's dance lessons. She's been losing interest in ballet, but now she loves to play the piano. So, dance lessons will be dropped after the big recital in June.
My son gave up fencing for similar reasons. Took too much time and didn't give enough joy.
But he loves, loves, LOVES baseball, so that one's non-negotiable.
It's not just the kids with multiple interests and minimal time. On my way to find my son's baseball gear, I nearly tripped over the sewing machine that I'd bought for myself over a year ago. I've used it exactly two times, including once for a beginner's sewing class. While the class seemed interesting on the day I took it, I have to admit that I can't even remember how to thread the bobbin anymore.
If I have a free half-hour, nine times out of ten, I'll reach for my camera. Zero times out of ten, I'll reach for a new sewing project. I'm terrible at math, but I think that says something.
I thought I could read the small stack of books I'd taken out of the library a month ago--cookbooks, a couple of novels, a book of essays--but they're all due today and going back to the library, all but two of them unread. (When exactly did I think I was going to be able to whip up those vegan cupcakes, anyway?)
Then there's the Mad Men finale. Some day, I might get around to watching it, along with the four shows leading up to it that are waiting patiently for me on TiVo. Frankly, I'm just not that interested anymore. It's hard to fit in TV shows when I don't have time these days to blow-dry my hair. (Sending out a big thanks to whomever invented the ponytail hole in baseball caps!)
There are only so many hours. Our ongoing task is to find the essence of our days--the things we love, the things we truly need to do--and skim off the rest.
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How 'bout you? Have you simplified your activities or are you stretched to the limit? Let's hear it in the comments section!
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