Goodness.
Where to even begin???
Okay…back to schedules.
I guess the best starting point is to share that life continues to be full, full, full (and, mostly, in the good way), but I’ve suddenly looked up to discover it’s MARCH, both Daylight Savings and Spring Break are upon us, I haven’t posted in more than a week, and holy mother of all that is holy, where is time going????
We had this priceless moment last Saturday, with all six of us on the couch at the same time, and it felt like such a gift, and a rarity, that it got my mind churning:
I began thinking about the bigger picture of timing demands and schedules and connectivity for our crew right now…and I kept on thinking about it.
In fact, I’m still thinking about it.
Which makes sense, considering I’m sitting here in the car, waiting on Chica to finish her violin lesson, coordinating with a couple mothers about tomorrow’s lengthy track meet, buying my ticket for chaperoning a field trip tomorrow, planning out Chicklet’s swim lesson logistics, and reminding myself not to forget about Little Man’s pickup from chess, and…it feels like the right time to give a Big Picture Post update on…
SCHEDULES!
And, more specifically, juggling the schedules of our four kiddos (three human; one furry), plus our own, in this current life stage of ours.
But first, please enjoy these bunnies that sparked MAJOR Springtime joy for me this past weekend, because JOY is important!
Okay…back to schedules.
It’s no surprise that, within this past year, I shared a pretty introspective post about the fact that we now have middle grade-aged kiddos, rather than young kiddos. An important distinction, for so many reasons.
Our kiddos are growing, expanding their interests, honing in on the activities they love, living richer social lives, experiencing greater school demands, and just generally making our lives and schedules crazier.
Plus, you know, that puppy who’s just 18 months old is a challenge in and of itself, ha.
I’ve learned within the past two years that flipping the switch from elementary to middle school is a whole thing that ramps up life, big time, and we’re about to throw a second middle schooler in to the mix (yikes!).
So it’s no surprise that, in addition to sharing a post within the past year about our middle grade kiddos, I also shared a post about the corresponding mental shift that I HAD TO MAKE, in order to survive, with any shred of sanity.
If you’re not interested in re-reading the post, I’ll give you the Cliff’s Notes version:
I learned within the past year or so that…my time is not my own, there will never be any freedom, my bedtime needs to reflect the sleep patterns of an octogenarian, and if I just basically assume that I will never stop, never sleep, and never have any “low key” days…I’ll be so much happier!!! Because any time a pocket of “free” time presents itself, it will feel like the miracle that it is!
And…voila!
Mindset shift achieved!!
And I’m so much happier for it!
Grieving the old life and accepting the new one was the KEY to unlocking the next level, ha.
So, now. If you’re still with me, let’s recap:
I’ve acknowledged that my kiddos are middle grade and aging and life has ramped up as a result.
And I’ve also reached a new level of acceptance that free time is a thing of the past, there will never be an empty slot on the calendar, I just have to go to bed earlier, and…that’s A-okay, for the current life stage.
It’s actually really cute for me to think back on the phase of life when I only wanted one night of extra-curricular activities, or when I tried to keep Saturdays free of anything.
Now, I’m like: Wait, Chicklet only has swim three days a week instead of five??? GOLDEN. Or: We get one day off from the 5:45 a.m. track wake-up schedule this week??? Amazing!! Or, the best, yet: We finished one sporting season and have a whole weekend before the next season begins??? Wahoo!
It’s hysterical to see just how brainwashed I’ve become, when an hour out of the whole weekend, to sit and do nothing, feels like a week on vacay.
And, speaking of vacay…this current life stage of ours makes me appreciate family vacations on a whole, new level. I can’t even imagine how difficult it might be to reconnect and have concentrated, quality time once in a blue moon, if we didn’t take the opportunity to get out of dodge every so often. So I’m definitely counting down to our adventure next week, and already anticipating some devoted time with my babies and hubby.
I have no doubt that I will need to unlock more levels and layers to survive the phases that will be coming my way in the very near future, but for now, I’m grateful for coming up with mental and logistical tricks to help me deal, and deal better, these day.
And on that note, I’ll leave you with our wild wall calendar that’s become indispensable since its inception in August.
It. Keeps. Us. In. Line.
I’ve always loved and utilized a solid, color-coordinated calendar (like these summer schedules I’ve always created), but they were never necessary until recently. I liked the visual, but I didn’t need it to keep things straight. Oh-hoooo, the hubris. Gone are those days.
Now I NEED something tactile and dry-erase, with color-coded magnets for each activity, so it made sense to mount something where the whole family could see it at a glance, and it’s been immeasurably helpful, this year.
If it’s not on the calendar, it doesn’t exist! And the kids know that, ha.
We’re going to keep trekking onward and upward, day by day, as we quickly head in to the FINAL nine weeks of this school year.
The schedule is tough, but we’re doing it!
Happy I-Finally-Typed-A-Post Tuesday, peeps!
Over and out.
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