Is there a month that seems to by your busiest? Mine used to be December, with May as a strong second. When my first child entered kindergarten, May crept up from behind to take the lead.
(It’s now June, but I’m going to post this blog about May anyway, that I started a couple weeks ago, but just now finding a few quiet moments to get it online.)
May is spring! The days are long, the weather is warm. In April, I peaked out of semi-hibernation for Spring and Easter Break. I got a little relaxation, did a few things, and tried to brace myself for May as the calendar became fuller and fuller.
Let’s see…what did I do? Before I clean my second dry erase calendar board for May to fill it with July, I’ll reminisce. Without the calendar, it would actually all be a blur.
May 1 started with a sick child. Day, shot. Okay, maybe not shot. It was a “forced bonding day.” There would be two more of these during the month. (See my post dated 2/10/09 to see what a typical day is like, at home with a sick child.)
Kid activities: Sports begin. Parents and kids are excited, but by mid-May, I hear my “mom” friends uttering a sigh of relief when it rains. My kids do not play team sports, but I see that coming over the horizon. One of them is interested in field hockey, another, tennis. So…to prepare for the tennis team, my kids began tennis lessons this spring - something new for the calendar.
Personally, my kid activity that requires major attention is the Piano Guild; getting my kids to realize that five to ten memorized pieces of music is not going to happen by osmosis.
Everyday, it’s:
“You have to practice.”
“You agreed to do this, so now do it…and do a good job!”
“How many have you memorized so far?”
“How many more do you have to memorize?”
Pure mental anxiety.
It's the usual, annual, three week period prior to the audition where I get tired of hearing myself say those things EVERYDAY. (I try to rotate so that each kid will only hear me every third day.)
Other kid activities: Piano recital and a piano class graduation, Instrumental Ensemble performance, 5k run for charity (post date 5/13/09), strings concert, field day & 5th grade picnic (all day for two kids), the Hannah Montana movie, shopping (post dated 5/29/09) – and to top it off, the pool has opened!
"Mommy, we wanna go to the pool!!!"
Any allergy sufferers out there? Need I say more? I’ll just say that what started in April became full blown by May. I dispensed more generic Claritin and Zyrtec to Hayley and Kelly than a worker at a heroin detox clinic dispensing methadone to addicts.
And, each morning, I analyzed their puffy eyes to see if drops were necessary, and emptied bathroom trash baskets full of tissue used on noses with bad plumbing. (Actually, the tissues were on the floors beside their beds and I put it in trash baskets.) Thank God for my allergy shots; maybe the kids need them, too.
Special occasions: My daughter Mallory’s birthday (2 celebrations), my mom’s birthday, Mother’s Day, a college graduation, a middle school graduation, an anniversary party, an engagement party, a “before the prom” gathering, a dinner to honor a friend from South Africa, a “new marriage” cocktail party, and a Memorial Day party. (The ladies at Hallmark Creations and I are practically family now.) I missed four of the events - but the rest, I was there! And, I had a good time socializing. Give me a high five!
All of that and some, in addition to the daily routine, like eating, cooking, hygiene, laundry, cleaning, school, church, exercising, communicating…
Plus, of course, I had to fit in my life! You know...the things that the girls do together. I’ll save that for future conversations with you.
As busy as life can get, with its periods of exhaustion, joy, frustration, eagerness, anxiety and peace, I can honestly say that boredom is not a problem. And that’s a good thing.
When is your calendar overflowing? How do you handle it?
(It’s now June, but I’m going to post this blog about May anyway, that I started a couple weeks ago, but just now finding a few quiet moments to get it online.)
May is spring! The days are long, the weather is warm. In April, I peaked out of semi-hibernation for Spring and Easter Break. I got a little relaxation, did a few things, and tried to brace myself for May as the calendar became fuller and fuller.
Let’s see…what did I do? Before I clean my second dry erase calendar board for May to fill it with July, I’ll reminisce. Without the calendar, it would actually all be a blur.
May 1 started with a sick child. Day, shot. Okay, maybe not shot. It was a “forced bonding day.” There would be two more of these during the month. (See my post dated 2/10/09 to see what a typical day is like, at home with a sick child.)
Kid activities: Sports begin. Parents and kids are excited, but by mid-May, I hear my “mom” friends uttering a sigh of relief when it rains. My kids do not play team sports, but I see that coming over the horizon. One of them is interested in field hockey, another, tennis. So…to prepare for the tennis team, my kids began tennis lessons this spring - something new for the calendar.
Personally, my kid activity that requires major attention is the Piano Guild; getting my kids to realize that five to ten memorized pieces of music is not going to happen by osmosis.
Everyday, it’s:
“You have to practice.”
“You agreed to do this, so now do it…and do a good job!”
“How many have you memorized so far?”
“How many more do you have to memorize?”
Pure mental anxiety.
It's the usual, annual, three week period prior to the audition where I get tired of hearing myself say those things EVERYDAY. (I try to rotate so that each kid will only hear me every third day.)
Other kid activities: Piano recital and a piano class graduation, Instrumental Ensemble performance, 5k run for charity (post date 5/13/09), strings concert, field day & 5th grade picnic (all day for two kids), the Hannah Montana movie, shopping (post dated 5/29/09) – and to top it off, the pool has opened!
"Mommy, we wanna go to the pool!!!"
Any allergy sufferers out there? Need I say more? I’ll just say that what started in April became full blown by May. I dispensed more generic Claritin and Zyrtec to Hayley and Kelly than a worker at a heroin detox clinic dispensing methadone to addicts.
And, each morning, I analyzed their puffy eyes to see if drops were necessary, and emptied bathroom trash baskets full of tissue used on noses with bad plumbing. (Actually, the tissues were on the floors beside their beds and I put it in trash baskets.) Thank God for my allergy shots; maybe the kids need them, too.
Special occasions: My daughter Mallory’s birthday (2 celebrations), my mom’s birthday, Mother’s Day, a college graduation, a middle school graduation, an anniversary party, an engagement party, a “before the prom” gathering, a dinner to honor a friend from South Africa, a “new marriage” cocktail party, and a Memorial Day party. (The ladies at Hallmark Creations and I are practically family now.) I missed four of the events - but the rest, I was there! And, I had a good time socializing. Give me a high five!
All of that and some, in addition to the daily routine, like eating, cooking, hygiene, laundry, cleaning, school, church, exercising, communicating…
Plus, of course, I had to fit in my life! You know...the things that the girls do together. I’ll save that for future conversations with you.
As busy as life can get, with its periods of exhaustion, joy, frustration, eagerness, anxiety and peace, I can honestly say that boredom is not a problem. And that’s a good thing.
When is your calendar overflowing? How do you handle it?
2 comments:
Being that I am a consummate Type A personality and a Virgo, I thrive when my calendar is full and my to-do list is overflowing. I like staying busy, but when it does catch up with me, I find myself wondering, "Why did I do this to myself?" Then, I'm tempted to be non-committal to invitations until I've bolstered myself back up again. I'm working on finding the balance between being social and being a hermit. I'll keep you posted on my results :)
HILARY,sounds like a roller coaster ride! Hang on, and do keep me posted. :)
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