Greg is very aware of this. Last night, I was sharing something with him and he leans over to me, puts his hand on my face, and said...."you poor INFJ". We both laughed,but honestly....before he may have said "you are thinking too much about x, y, z." Now, he accepts my quirky thoughts a bit more. Anyway, that's not what this post is about....
Through the years, I've been very careful not to overload our calendar with activities. It was a bit easier when we lived out in the country on our property. We had a gym in the basement, a waterpark in the backyard{or grandma's}, and lots of exploring in the woods{didn't do enough of that}. Now we live in a sort of fast paced area, we don't have a yard, or a basement, and grandma's pool is 300 miles away. We do have a great play ground in our complex, and many possibilities for outings. I've had to make more of an effort to get the boys some "gym time" and various other things. Our fall calendar was filled a bit too much for my taste, this semester is better as I've eliminated things. On days where we have nothing planned for the day we.....
*feel less stress
*get more schoolin' accomplished, in an un-rushed and enjoyable way
*the laundry gets done, house stays tidy, a full dinner gets made
*we seriously smile more
*with no prior sport lessons....he played high school football and wrestled. He also played rugby in college, and coached a bit afterward.
*with no prior acting class....during high school he won the lead role in a production of MASH. Do you know who he was up against?
Philip Seymour Hoffman!
{he went to Greg's high school}
Greg won the role of Hawkey, and Philip played Radar. They were both asked to go to acting camp in NYC, but Greg declined. He wasn't really interested in acting, just spontaneously tried out for the play to get closer to a girl he was crushing.
I have more stories like that, but I like that one the best. I will often go to Greg and ask "is it ok that the boys are not doing x, y, z?" and he will always say "yes! don't worry". It's hard not to compare when you see your neighbor's child signed up for something different each day. The worries come in, but I'm learning to quickly shove them aside and remember Greg's encouragement. I look at his childhood, and his young adult life and then see his adulthood. That alone is an encouraging reminder that it's ok to take it slow. Our boys love to play sports, but they don't always want to play competitive sports. Mostly, they just want to play {it could be basketball, baseball, or tag, anything}.
I'm just pondering some things. I'm not saying that extra lessons are wrong....I'm just trying to figure out how I want them to figure into our lives. I want to focus on what's important {to us} and what can wait until the boys are older. I feel like we have been conditioned to think that more of anything is better, but really.....I'm realizing that most of the time, simple is better.
Less IS more.
Just some things I'm pondering.
7 comments:
I couldn't agree more. My sons bff has a family rule that they don't do organized sports until junior high. I think it's smart for three reasons. It helps financially (though they have loads of money), it frees up family time, it allows them to play and be kids. I used to think it was an odd rule, but considering she's raised 4 teens already, I think she knows what she's doing. I also struggle with the fact that our good friends are always bugging us about signing the kids up for everything. I feel like the 'bad cop' that always says no, however I know that their kids are over scheduled, tired, grumpy and over stimulated, so deep down...I think they're the crazies. :)
Oh, how I love simple! I used to be so busy the first year of homeschooling, and before that as well, and it is SO nice to have days to just stay home. As far as sports and other classes goes, I have had the same concerns, and well-meaning ( Ithink?) people have made comments about the kids NOT being in classes all the time. We have taken a laid back approach, exploring opportunities as they arise or as the kids get interested. I have always informed them of opps. Sometimes the do it, sometimes not. Right now all the olders attend a PE class on Wednesdays and Hailey horseback riding on Tuesdays, plus they go to church each week, their life groups, and monthly extra church activities...that is quite enough to fill our week what with all the schoolin' and chorin' that needs done around here. :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It's always nice to see that others do and think. ;)
Yes, yes, yes!! Totally agree with you! We love days at home.
I hear ya! the boys get to pick one sport that they get to do, but unfortunately that now means two different practice days and two different game times. UGH. AND I just got an email from Ethan's coach that they are having two practices per week until the games start mid march. We haven't even begun and I'm already dreading this.
For us, I like the forced exercise that choosing a sport forces them to endure. It's good for them.
But I certainly understand the decision NOT to do anything either.
Always love your thoughts and input, gals!!
Yes, I agree playing sports is great forced exercise, but so is just playing in your backyard or at the playground. Sometimes, I've noticed my boys get more exercise at the playground than at a sports practice. Still tweaking our schedule and pondering the simple life :)
We have seasons in our life. The rule we go by is that if we want to sign up for something at least TWO of the kids need to be involved in it. And if all four can be involved, it is even more likely to get done. Swim lessons, HIS sports, Music Makers. And we try SO HARD to only have one thing per child going on at a time. Occasionally there will be a week or two of overlap [HIS Baseball starts before swim lessons are over] but that doesn't happen often.
Being at home is so good. So sweet and good. And front yard football is a keeper in our house. :)
Love front yard(or playground)football! Yep, seasons in our life, for sure. :)
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