Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Filling In All The Lines


Schedules are something else now days aren't they.  I love talking to people about how our parents did it with a bunch of kids and without all the convinces of modern technology that we have.  I can't help but think about how my life was as a child and while I was always involved in things, sometimes multiple activities at once, somehow life didn't seem to be moving a such a fast pace.  I even watched as I grew up how each activity, being either sports or music or whatever it was seemed to demand more and more time and commitment if I wanted to be involved in anything more than just the basics.  I have only seen that intensity grow as I now have my own children and watching other kids around me.  I am a planner, so I like to watch kids a few years older than my own so I can get an idea of what is possibly to come in the near future.  I desire for my kids to have a well rounded childhood filled with activities of their choosing plus a few more that I feel will benefit them.  But sometime these desires seem overwhelming just based on the demands of the world, let alone multiple those by 4 (even though the little ones aren't even into half the things the big kids are into and I know the big kids schedule will only get more intense very soon).  Then add in all my activities, with work and church and motherhood and running a household and and and and .... Oh yeah, and then there are those fun things that we throw in.  Even if that is just a simple nature walk or quick day trip to somewhere around town.  Those all add up to so many more hours than I have in the day and I didn't even talk about those essentials to living like eating and sleeping.  And who even has time for personal care any more! I am always pleased when I get my mascara on and my "messy bun" was actually brushed once before I threw it up onto the top of my head.

I regularly apply the story of putting my rocks in first in my life.  I use it when needing to fit really anything into my life when I feel there is no more time.  My last to do that there wasn't room for was fitness.  It started here where I applied that rock story to getting those running shoes on and getting those pounds off.  And guess what.  It was a rocky start (ha ha, get it?) actually it didn't really start until Feb. and I think I started rearranging schedules to accomplish that goal in Sept the previous year.  But I am happy to report that 8 months later and a few rearranging of things I accomplished my fitness goals and I am happily working out 4-5 times a week, my weight is where I want it and I haven't felt better in years.

So there is my gold start.  But even with that one I still haven't mastered my scheduling yet.  As I look at my calendar which is beautifully color coded and looks like a rainbow if you squint your eyes I can't believe how much I have going on!! And yet, even with my life mapped out on a daily basis I still miss things and it drives me NUTS!! In actuality when looking at the whole picture and all that I do do and remember I probably only miss something 3-5% of the time.  Really it is not very often.  I NEVER forget to pick up a kid (and there are rarely no less than 5 drop off or pick ups daily) and that is just for school, I'm not including any after school activities.  The best is when there are also 2 games that night, normally at the same time, on opposite sides of town.  Can't wait until that is 4 games on 4 different fields, that will be interesting.  But there are always those things that somehow slip through the cracks, like a theme at school that I forgot, that piece of paper I needed to fill out for a field trip that is sitting on the counter so I wont forget it, or whatever miscellaneous thing that puts a huge crink in my day.  Do other mothers go through all the guilt that I do when you forget?  Please don't tell me I'm the only one who forgets!!


So while I am still moving my rocks around, trying to get all the lines filled in and then remembering what is on each line, I need to find away to allow myself a little wiggle room and cut myself some slack!  So another goal for the rest of the school year, a little less than three weeks away, is to no miss anything and be extra diligent about writing down my to dos, and even if it takes 8 months, maybe I can fit all these rocks in and get my schedule rock solid too.  Wish me luck!!

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