For the last 7 years, our life has been reasonably calm. Sure, there's been school and the occasional doctor/dentist appointment, but for the most part we've been able to relax.
This fall, our calendar seems to have been filled to the point of spewing its contents onto the wall. Elijah has school until 3:15 daily, of course. Ezekiel is in preschool two mornings per week. We have our church playgroup on Wednesday mornings. That's all fine and dandy, but then there's swimming lessons for both boys on Mondays. Speech therapy for Ezekiel on Mondays. Chiropractic visits for Elijah on Tuesdays. Bible study for DH and I on Tuesday nights. Piano lessons for Elijah on Wednesdays. Not to mention the million medical appointments we seem to have signed up for with the new diagnoses floating around our family. Add into the mix the extra homework that comes with being in grade 3, the neverending saga of home renovations, my photo retouching service, and just the daily chores of running a household. I'm pooped!
I miss the days when we laid around the house watching cartoons... that was the life! Next year, my baby will start kindergarten. I think for the first few months, I will stay in my pyjamas (yes, even while dropping the kids off at school... I'll be one of THOSE mothers!!) and watch cartoons all day. Then, of course, I will become insanely bored with the whole deal and find something else to keep myself busy.
But for now... I just need a nap.
Notes to the Graduate
7 years ago
I wish you good luck with that one, honey. I have been at that point where I was constantly running and I had to take a deep breath and figure out why. There are still days when I feel like it's non-stop but it's not constant anymore. I like that. Hope you catch your breath and get a nap soon.
ReplyDeleteYes, as the children get older it is quite easy to fill that schedule up quickly. We used to do that course. The greatest blessing was when my husband got laid off about 8 years ago. For financial reasons we quit everything, ballet, piano, swimming, skating... all of it. After he returned to work everyone agreed that they liked the slower pace and we never went back... except to piano which we considered an important life skill. For that we found an instructor who would come to our home. Now the girls teach the youngers so that doesn't even apply. We feel our family is better for it. Our decision is not for everyone but I wouldn't go back for anything. As you said in another post, the time goes to quick. I want to spend it enjoying the moments that are most important to us.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much flexibility you have with medical appointments but I found it very helpful to have everything scheduled on one day a week. That way we only have one day of chaos and 4 days of normal. We also have a strict family rule that weekends are reserved for family activities, be it at church, doing something fun together, helping out someone else or working around the house, weekends are together.