It's That Time Of Year

You know, the time of year when the lazy days of summer are taken over by the busy days of autumn.

I love sitting back and watching everyone run around like chickens with their heads cut off and wonder why parents continue to do this madness?  At the crosswalk in the afternoons I chat with a grandmother who has to get her granddaughter into her car in under 30 seconds of the bell ringing because she has dance lessons and her brother has piano lessons followed by soccer pracice and I guess grab dinner in there somewhere? Who the hell knows.

Honestly it makes me crazy.  It also makes me relieved that I refuse to live that way.  And you know what? My kids are going to be fine.  They will get into college, even if they have to pay for it the old fashion way: by working and paying loans (they will survive, trust me).  Sure, they may watch their friends run around like mad chipmunks and wish we could run around too but I know that one day they will be thankful their childhood wasn't completely overrun with chaos and over-scheduled events and dinners on the run, usually eaten in the car.

Why are parents so worried about their kids doing nothing?  I think we are creating a generation of kids who won't be able to enjoy how wonderful a simple life can be because they will be too busy looking for the next great thing, the next thing to buy, the bells and the whistles that will entertain them and keep them from being bored.

What is wrong with nights spent eating dinner together around the table? Or, playing a game together? Or, just sitting together watching a movie with a big bowl of popcorn?  I'm not totally against activities, I just think overall we have collectively gone too far with our kids keeping them busy every single day and night.  Kids do well, if not better, by downtime and family time.

On Sunday we had planned to work in the vegetable garden but as we both sat there, Larry watching football and me reading, we decided to go out and play a little tennis together as a family instead.  Didn't cost anything and spent about forty-five minutes rallying the ball back and forth between the five of us.  It was a blast.

I know sports are important and I know that music lessons are  important and I know that all these extra-curricular activities are important but stop for a minute and think about all that is scheduled in on your calendar and your kids calendars.  They don't need be signed up for EVERYTHING and they don't need to be constantly entertained.

It's simple.  Say "no" once in awhile or stop youself from overbooking everyone in your life.  Sit down and have dinner together around an actual table.

YOU DON'T NEED A LOT OF MONEY OR AN OVERBOOKED SCHEDULE TO HAVE A HAPPY, HEALTHY FAMILY.

Thank you, and good night.

Comments

[Sarah]

Preach it! hehe
Thanks for the reminder! It's hard to remember that you're doing the right thing when everyone around you is doing the running around thing!

[C:]

Amen! Sista!