I have some friends who, like me, are at-home moms with a mere two kids, and yet, they have nannies. There are some whose life situations necessitate it: the kid who takes dance class three times a week an hour away, the other family who has a special needs child, etc. But there are others a lot like me (minus my medical issues, I guess), who don't have any "exceptions" and still outsource some childcare. I don't judge them for it -- hey, if I hadn't just quintupled my mortgage, I might try to buy some more me-time too! But I fundamentally didn't understand it until both kids started playing sports this week for the first time ever.
Petunia's first-ever softball season is upon us, and Dash's first-ever t-ball season is here, too, on top of everything else. Beyond school, this week involves: a Girl Scout meeting, two big cookie order pick-ups, two cookie booths, two dental appointments (both kids), one guitar lesson, one medical appointment for me, one shift in Petunia's school library, one stint co-oping at preschool, and five -- FIVE -- softball/t-ball practices and games. FIVE. This is on top of some major extra homework for Petunia including the science fair the following week and a month-long book project in the works.
And the Guv's heading to NOLA to golf.
And I'm sick.
And I'm working.
And now I understand why so many of my friends have nannies with "only" two kids.
I'll get through it the old-fashioned way; I can send Petunia along to softball with another parent at least one of the three times. When I have to be there, I can sit and relax on the bleachers, coordinating the snack schedule for each team and maybe even squeezing a little work-planning. (My "real job" work will get done while the kids are in school.)
What I don't know how we'll handle is the seven times this season where the kids have to be in the same place at exactly the same time. Sometimes, the Guv'll be around to help with that. Sometimes, not. I'm going to have to get a lot better at carpooling!
In any event, this is all good stuff, though: stuff I signed up to be doing, not stuff I don't want to handle. And that will make the difference between me keeping my sanity (and my health) solid through this manic upcoming week. It's a great thing to see both kids enjoying sports, something in which I wish I'd have participated more as a kid. They love it, and I love watching. These are the times I'll remember, I believe -- not the chaos of running around so much as the big, huge smiles that come from their joy.
And their joy? That's what it's all about, not in small part because it's a big source of my own joy. So let's play ball! I'm ready!
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