After School Activities
I hate extracurricular after-school activities. HATE them. They're going to KILL me. Why oh why do my children need to play multiple instruments and sports? WHY is there such a thing as an after school art club? I don't understand.
It was not like this when I was a child. Sure I did Girl Scouts (mostly for the camping), but we met right after school and the meetings were AT the school so I could just walk home (we did that back then). I played softball for a couple of seasons--and walked--and practice was once per week with only ONE game a month. I really wanted to do gymnastics so I went (walked!) to the YWCA on Saturdays. I was driven to piano lessons but would have happily given those up if mom and dad were too busy.
Not now--oh no. Now, we must be driven to all things and none of them are right after school...which is probably better because if they were my kids wouldn't be able to do that anyway. Now they're all right smack over the dinner hour or worse, let out at 9pm which is past my own bedtime, not to mention the children.
Monday nights are the worst. We leave at 6:45 to get Iris to basketball by 7:00 and then head over to ballet where Ivy practices from 7:30-9:00. I'm able to sit and relax for maybe ten or fifteen minutes at ballet but then have to head back to basketball to pick up Iris and take her home. I get Isabelle ready for bed and all tucked in while Iris showers off the sweat and leave them both home while I go to pick up Ivy. I'm finally home by 9:20 and then the real work starts.
Pack Isabelle's lunch
Pack my lunch
Setup the coffee pot (an absolute necessity)
Clean up the kitchen after dinner
Answer the 1,268 questions Iris suddenly remembers must be answered
Start a load of laundry
Iron/layout clothes for the next day
Make dinner for Tuesday (just wait for it...)
Eat dinner myself (because I totally forgot to do that when the girls ate)
Tuesdays are better, but not much. I must--MUST--leave work by 4:30 to get to Isabelle's daycare by 5:10. If I'm not there by 5:10, we WILL be late to piano. If, by some miracle, I manage to pass the WaWa on my way home and it's not yet 4:45, I can pop in and pick up three bags of chips and drinks to go with the PBJ I made the night before that the girls will be eating for dinner in the car tonight. If it's after 4:45, they'll have to settle for juice boxes and no chips. I will not be praised as the best mom ever and will feel like a failure.
Rushing Bebo out of daycare, we're back in the car by 5:15 at which point I call the "big girls" and tell them I'll be there in 10 minutes and they should grab their piano books, the cooler bag from the fridge with dinner in it an meet me at the bust stop. This saves considerable time parking, unlocking the door, finding them still without shoes and shouting "hurry up!" a dozen times. If the timing works out, we pull into the parking lot where piano lessons are held
at 5:31--only one minute late! One kid eats while the other plays. I spend the hour trying to get Isabelle to just sit and eat already and share the salad I made with her because whatever mom is eating is always better.
We're back home by 7:00 on Tuesdays which is better than Mondays because after the previously stated list of after work/school chores for ME, I might have time to finish up the work I brought home, answer the emails that arrived between 4:30-5:00 or maybe even read! Oh, wait, no--I can't try to read while the kids are still up. There's the neverending questions:
"Mom? I need help drawing a pretzel for my German paper doll for school tomorrow."
"Mom? Can you sign my math test?"
"Mom? Can I have a salad in my lunch tomorrow?"
"Mom? Can you help me get the pencil that's stuck in my cello out?"
"Mom? Where's my Peppa Pig book?"
"Mom? I need money for the Renaissance Fair tomorrow."
"Mom? Can we submit a recipe for the crock pot contest?"
"Mom? I know it's not my night to shower but can I take one because I think my hair accidentally touched my underwear when I went to the bathroom at school."
These are all real by the way. No reading.
Now, Monday and Tuesday are just the after-school activities. There are also the before-school activities that include band and orchestra (two DIFFERENT things) where they must be dropped off at school by 7:15.
And then there is the barrage of activities that are during school but somehow require a ridiculous amount of paper, planning and involvement. A fundraiser, a presentation, a play that requires a costume (because I have a Hades, God of the Underworld outfit lying around. It's right next to my old world explorer costume.)
I don't have the energy for all of this. Once, Nick suggested we start the girls in soccer and I literally started crying. No. Just no.
But this, my friends, is why my favorite time of day is 7:45pm. The kids are in bed (mostly) and I have enough time for part of a movie or an entire Law & Order episode and STILL get in a few minutes of reading before bed. Sometimes wine is involved. Sometimes bourbon. Sometimes coffee (decaf!).
I love my kids. I just HATE the activities. But I do them...because I love my kids.
It was not like this when I was a child. Sure I did Girl Scouts (mostly for the camping), but we met right after school and the meetings were AT the school so I could just walk home (we did that back then). I played softball for a couple of seasons--and walked--and practice was once per week with only ONE game a month. I really wanted to do gymnastics so I went (walked!) to the YWCA on Saturdays. I was driven to piano lessons but would have happily given those up if mom and dad were too busy.
Not now--oh no. Now, we must be driven to all things and none of them are right after school...which is probably better because if they were my kids wouldn't be able to do that anyway. Now they're all right smack over the dinner hour or worse, let out at 9pm which is past my own bedtime, not to mention the children.
Monday nights are the worst. We leave at 6:45 to get Iris to basketball by 7:00 and then head over to ballet where Ivy practices from 7:30-9:00. I'm able to sit and relax for maybe ten or fifteen minutes at ballet but then have to head back to basketball to pick up Iris and take her home. I get Isabelle ready for bed and all tucked in while Iris showers off the sweat and leave them both home while I go to pick up Ivy. I'm finally home by 9:20 and then the real work starts.Pack Isabelle's lunch
Pack my lunch
Setup the coffee pot (an absolute necessity)
Clean up the kitchen after dinner
Answer the 1,268 questions Iris suddenly remembers must be answered
Start a load of laundry
Iron/layout clothes for the next day
Make dinner for Tuesday (just wait for it...)
Eat dinner myself (because I totally forgot to do that when the girls ate)
Tuesdays are better, but not much. I must--MUST--leave work by 4:30 to get to Isabelle's daycare by 5:10. If I'm not there by 5:10, we WILL be late to piano. If, by some miracle, I manage to pass the WaWa on my way home and it's not yet 4:45, I can pop in and pick up three bags of chips and drinks to go with the PBJ I made the night before that the girls will be eating for dinner in the car tonight. If it's after 4:45, they'll have to settle for juice boxes and no chips. I will not be praised as the best mom ever and will feel like a failure.
Rushing Bebo out of daycare, we're back in the car by 5:15 at which point I call the "big girls" and tell them I'll be there in 10 minutes and they should grab their piano books, the cooler bag from the fridge with dinner in it an meet me at the bust stop. This saves considerable time parking, unlocking the door, finding them still without shoes and shouting "hurry up!" a dozen times. If the timing works out, we pull into the parking lot where piano lessons are held
at 5:31--only one minute late! One kid eats while the other plays. I spend the hour trying to get Isabelle to just sit and eat already and share the salad I made with her because whatever mom is eating is always better.
We're back home by 7:00 on Tuesdays which is better than Mondays because after the previously stated list of after work/school chores for ME, I might have time to finish up the work I brought home, answer the emails that arrived between 4:30-5:00 or maybe even read! Oh, wait, no--I can't try to read while the kids are still up. There's the neverending questions:"Mom? I need help drawing a pretzel for my German paper doll for school tomorrow."
"Mom? Can you sign my math test?"
"Mom? Can I have a salad in my lunch tomorrow?"
"Mom? Can you help me get the pencil that's stuck in my cello out?"
"Mom? Where's my Peppa Pig book?"
"Mom? I need money for the Renaissance Fair tomorrow."
"Mom? Can we submit a recipe for the crock pot contest?"
"Mom? I know it's not my night to shower but can I take one because I think my hair accidentally touched my underwear when I went to the bathroom at school."
These are all real by the way. No reading.
Now, Monday and Tuesday are just the after-school activities. There are also the before-school activities that include band and orchestra (two DIFFERENT things) where they must be dropped off at school by 7:15.
And then there is the barrage of activities that are during school but somehow require a ridiculous amount of paper, planning and involvement. A fundraiser, a presentation, a play that requires a costume (because I have a Hades, God of the Underworld outfit lying around. It's right next to my old world explorer costume.)
I don't have the energy for all of this. Once, Nick suggested we start the girls in soccer and I literally started crying. No. Just no.
But this, my friends, is why my favorite time of day is 7:45pm. The kids are in bed (mostly) and I have enough time for part of a movie or an entire Law & Order episode and STILL get in a few minutes of reading before bed. Sometimes wine is involved. Sometimes bourbon. Sometimes coffee (decaf!).
I love my kids. I just HATE the activities. But I do them...because I love my kids.
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