Our mornings are scheduled. All three kids are scheduled during the school day. Our evenings are a sandwich of snack, swimming, volleyball, karate, dinner, homework, and reading. Bedtime is set in stone. Weekends are either heavily scheduled. It’s the season of our lives.
There is no way out of the rut. Most days I don’t mind the driving, the calendar, the paperwork. But, how to get out of the rut? Some days just scream for a change of pace.
Yesterday and today were two of those days. Days when it was necessary to throw caution to the wind.
My daughters are participating in a school fundraiser…an all-day basketball tournament. High excitement for the middle school crowd. Games, t-shirts, and teams have been talked about at the dinner table at length.
Yesterday after school my oldest mentioned wanting to have a friend over to decorate shirts. My immediate thought was “What?? Tuesday is a free night…with nothing planned??” But, I didn’t tell her my first thought. Instead, I told her my second thought “Yes! Invite your friends over right now!” Now, it was 4 p.m. and I didn’t know who could get to our house and who couldn’t on such short notice.
By 5 p.m. I had 4 happy teens around my kitchen table. All four were happily decorating their t-shirts w/fabric paint, glitter, and laundry markers. I busied myself in the kitchen while eavesdropping on 8th grade speak. It was a rare treat to get a glimpse in to my daughter’s world. She’s a kid who can occupy herself at any time…very resourceful and self-reliant. She enjoys her friends, but often would rather hang out at home than see them on weekends.
My 6th grader needed considerable prodding to have her friends over. She can be shy plus she has a busy schedule. I am so glad I pressed her to have friends over to decorate shirts. She was just anxious — had a great time with friends. The kids had fun, too. Even the moms were excited that I had planned the playdate…uh gathering. I guess 11- and 14-year-old’s are too old for playdates! As for me, I USED to be the type of mom who hosted the big gatherings of kids…perhaps I need to set up more gatherings…
Just as I setup playdates when the children were little, I now need to give my daughters the time and space to hang out with friends.
This post was not sponsored by Sharpie, Crayola, or glitter glue…more’s the pity!
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