The time has come...

Have you ever watched someone just mentally check out before your eyes? In this time of overprogrammed, overactivitied, overworked kids, I have seen more "checking out" than I care to on a weekly basis. It's all "That poor kid" and "Why do those parents do that to him/her" until you sit and watch it happen to your own. It is almost October...and my kids are done. While they love the thrill of a soccer game, the culmination of all the moves into one graceful dance and the assembling of notes into the perfect guitar piece, they still have projects and reading/math logs and crazed math teachers to deal with. Not to mention the emotional exhaustion from just trying to relate to their peers, navigate the awkward feelings of growing up and still maintain their manners and kindness at home. It's enough. But at what point do you as a parent switch from "You made a commitment and you will carry it through to the end" to "You must choose between activiies because you can't handle everything on your plate"? It is a horribly difficult call to make...or is it? What a horrible feeling to see your child with a blank look, emotionless or emotional to the point of no control; the weight of life too much for their little bodies and minds to bear. Our oldest will be 12 on Saturday, but I still feel like she is baby. They require more sleep, more food in frquent batches. They still want to have their moments to be little and snuggle with their mom and dad. In my mind, there is no decision to make. I will cut every activity out except school and church to insure that they don't burn out on life before they reach their teens. Am I saying that is what I intend to do tomorrow? Not at all. But don't ever forget that the mother bear in me will jerk them out and back into the protective womb of home if necessary. I can't do that forever, but you can be d%$# sure I will do it now without blinking an eye.

Hopefully something funny will happen tomorrow so I can work myself out of these depressing posts. Where's a good "Pizza Inn" moment when we need one?


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