It’s been my personal experience that the first couple weeks of school, prior to Labor Day (at least, down here in Texas), are pretty much like a soft launch.
Things feel manageable (with the exception of kiddos’ emotions, ha).
Homework begins slow and steady.
And school social and extra-curriculars are low-stress.
Then, post Labor Day—WHAM! No more easing into things. Alllllllll of it ramps up, BIG TIME.
Just this week, we’ve had the onset of some PTA activity, the first elementary evening social event, my first round of volunteering at the middle school for an orchestra dealio, the return of tennis lessons, Little Man’s after-school soccer program kickoff, the start of Chica’s before-school violin sectionals rehearsals, and…the official launch of Chica’s Confirmation year at church!
Gah. That’s a lot to add on to existing commitments.
Throw in a couple of doctor’s appointments, another migraine, the launch of my Barre Studio’s official Fall Fit challenge, three rounds of the hubby’s car being in the shop (and still not fully fixed) and a teacher’s birthday I’m in charge of celebrating as the classroom representative, and…I’m feeling a little cross-eyed. And a bit worried about things already falling through the cracks!
Disclaimer: this is nothing above and beyond what every family the world over deals with. But I did tell the hubby last night that our three children were kind of feeling like ten these days, as their activities multiply, their schools split, their drop-offs and pick-ups stagger, and their social and activity lives take off in different directions.
It’s a lot, sometimes.
But all part of a full family life.
And nothing some calm time spent organizing and cataloguing things in my planner can’t fix, ha.
But for now, let’s circle back around to Confirmation.
We knew this was coming up sometime soon, as the program is an option for kiddos in middle school at our particular church. But we were unsure if we should encourage Chica to dive in this year or next—until another mom friend happened to share the enrollment numbers and we realized it was heavily weighted toward sixth-graders. So with about 24 hours’ notice, we officially decided it was GO TIME.
Obviously, we really love our church and have found a lot of joy in VBS and are regular attendees of Sunday services. But this takes all that to the next level with the onset of a lot of extras. Steady Sunday school attendance, Wednesday evenings confirmation classes, mandatory sermons notes, verses to memorize, retreats to attend…it’s a whole thing.
Obviously, we’re a strongly faith-based family, so this is an important milestone, and I’m so excited to watch my eldest connect on a more personal level with her own faith. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous about all the scheduling and activity commitments!
That said, instead of focusing on all that gives me—or Chica—anxiety, I’m going to focus on all the positives and the joys.
Like…purchasing a girls’ study Bible for Chica today. One that made her really happy—and proud to have on hand tonight for the first Confirmation session, when they needed an extra and nobody but the mentors had one nearby (because they were in the church cafeteria having pizza).
I also got her a zip-up case, just like I had growing up. Handy for storing post-its, pencils, and all the goods.
After she made it home tonight, it was a delight to look through her materials and find her catechism. :) Back in the day, mine was blue and smaller, and it’s so fun to see this popping up in our casa.
Long and short, this week has been loaded full of alllllll the things, but I know it will all level out and become part of our new (very busy) normal.
Hoping for some good sleep tonight and an organized day tomorrow!
Happy Hump Day, peeps!
Over and out.
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