When I was a child there seemed to be an infinite amount of it. School stretched on forever. It seemed like forever before summer vacation and Christmas was just this side of never.
Now, as an adult, I wonder where it went. My parents and family are aging. Heck, I am aging. I often find myself wondering where the time went. Where did the last eleven years go...it was just yesterday that A was born. What about the last twenty years, I just graduated from high school last week.
Now there are not enough hours in a day. Not enough days in a week.
My girls take recorder at co-op. They sing in our church choir and play handbells in the youth handbell choir. P is always singing. A dreams of playing guitar. P would love to play drums. Fantasize with me for a moment...."Everyone come on get happy..."
We got a keyboard. I knew my girls could read music, but I was not prepared for P to open up a book and play the Star Wars theme song as though she had been playing it for a while. I did not anticipate that they would be looking for youtube videos to teach them the hand positions.
Piano Lessons. I have gotten recommendations from quite a few people.
The issue is...when can we fit them in???
Mondays we are at co-op, then tea with my grandmother. I don't want to give up either.
Tuesdays we hit the academics hard. It is really our only day to do so. Then the girls attend choir and handbell practice and youth group on Tuesday afternoons. All of that is important. They have friends in all of those activities and they come home with big wide smiles on their faces. I see how important being part of our church activities is to them, how proud they are to be part of building a well in Zambia and adopting children in Africa.
Wednesdays and Thursdays I work. I am actually soon going to be switching my schedule to work Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I will run the girls to church on my break on Tuesdays so that we can attend Homeschool Soccer on Thursday mornings and join a knitting club Thursday afternoons. Both are important. I want the girls to do something physical and experience being part of a team. Likewise, they are creative and I think they will really enjoy knitting and being able to make purses and things, especially since sewing lessons with Mama will end when she heads to the lakehouse for spring/summer. Also this is rumored to be where every homeschool girl over the age of 10 in the our state hangs out on Thursdays, and indeed, when looking at the database, there are a LOT of girls ages 10 and up in the group...and it is important to me that as she enters adolescence, A has friends that are "like" her in that they are homeschooled and also going through adolescence (and hopefully their moms and I can commiserate as well).
Fridays are our only free day and I would kind of like to keep it that way. We use Friday mornings to wrap up all of our lessons for the week and leave Friday afternoon for fun stuff like playdates or park days or week day field trips (to avoid weekend crowds). Seriously, if I scheduled something on Friday my girls would never have time for a playdate or free time with friends.
Jason and I are both subject to working some Saturdays. Sundays are for church and family.
I am trying really, really hard to find time or to give up something. Co-op? But they love their friends and are doing well in recorder. Choir and youth group? I want them to be part of our church. Do I quit my job??????? But job makes me feel good about me. It is something that I do FOR me. And I think it is good for my girls to SEE me working. Soccer? Knitting? Free time????
I am praying that an answer will come.
