Things to Do - And Now You're a Soccer Mom

When the kids were little, more experienced parents often offered general sort of advice - "it gets easier", "don't you just love this stage?", "take care of yourself first", "don't forget to make time for your spouse", etc. Most of the time, I enjoyed hearing their advice, even the multiple cliches, but I never could quite understand why some parents insisted on telling me "wait, until the soccer years start, then you'll REALLY be busy." First of all, I already was busy - finding time to go to the bathroom proved difficult, I did not feel that the "soccer years" could top my already exhausting days. And, now that I'm on the other side, I can say that in my experience no period of life is more tiring than when you have a toddler. But still, I am a bit surprised by how full our days (and weekends) have become.

I was never much of an activity kid. Despite my parents' numerous attempts to enroll me in sports - soccer, softball, cross country, etc. I have never been an athlete. Or a joiner. I'm one of the only law school grads I know who didn't belong to a journal or participate in moot court. Never joined a sorority. I am not a member of any club. Something about organizational involvement makes me nervous, even today. I'd be an awful communist.

On the other hand, from the time F was born, Dan has always hoped that our children would participate in sports. And luckily, he's managed to manipulate his schedule so that he can coach P's soccer team (albeit while on crutches). On Tuesday nights, P and Dan go to soccer practice, while T and I take F to martial arts. Then Wednesday is soccer for T and piano for F. Thursday, P attends gymnastics. And I basically operate as a chauffeur for all of these different activities (actually we walk to some of them, but you get the idea). I can't help wondering exactly how we found ourselves here. Or if we can scale back somehow. But maybe this is just how it works now, no individual child is in more than two activities, it's the accumulation that makes life hectic.

But wow, the days do seem short lately.