Foolishly, I once thought that as my kids got older, that somehow, things would be a little less busy, and we would one day find a routine that worked for us.
Clearly, after nearly a decade of being a parent, that isn’t the case. Routine, at least in our case, has never truly existed, and I don’t know if it really exists for anyone, even those parents who claim that their kids love routine.
There is no repeat button in life; at least I don’t think so. And I could never imagine a life with a strict routine, since that would be quite boring. Rather than life getting more predictable as the kids get older, I now find myself running from one spot to the next more than ever, and I think I kind of love it.
Before my kids were school aged, I always told myself I wouldn’t be the type of parent to overschedule my children. I’ve come to learn that children’s personalities are much harder to plan around than simple decisions made when they were still in diapers.
Right now, I have an active nine-year-old who plays basketball once a week, goes to karate twice a week, guitar lessons once a week, and after Sunday’s first practice of the season, he will also head to pond hockey once or twice each weekend.
He is busy. And I am busy. But watching that kid get dressed in his hockey equipment and take his first skate after a summer away from the ice is something that you can’t really put words to. The smile on his face said it all.
I’ve also been able to watch him find a new love in basketball lately. Each practice, he comes home just as excited as ever. And with each activity, there is a new group of kids, a new social experience, and usually more lessons learned.
One thing I’m thankful for is having a second child who has a very different personality. After fracturing his elbow this summer, we decided to take some time before enrolling him back into gymnastics.
After trying out some of the things his brother has learned to love, our youngest was happy to find an after-school activity that was entirely his own. I can see that he’s missing the once a week swinging and tumbling sessions, and after trying to convince him to try out indoor soccer, he has fully decided that the only thing he wants to do right now is wait for gymnastics.
And so, the bouncing around from one activity to the next will continue on. But, it’s a great kind of busy, and one that I know won’t last forever.
