I feel like my voice is in the minority with this message: Sign Up for Less!
Do less.
Schedule less.
Be gone less.
Buy less.
And don't think you're missing out. Instead:
Stay home more.
Enjoy your people more.
Love more.
Relax more.
Read more.
Play more.
Our weeks are filled with school days, work days and the responsibilities that go along with that. Then I'm very protective of our time together. Our evenings are pretty plan free most of the time and our weekends are pretty flexible. Church on Sunday mornings seems to be our only set in stone plans. Then we add things to the calendar when A. It is required and B. When it's a priority that we do something.
None of the kids are currently signed up for any sports or any clubs. I asked them and they said no. They prefer to go to parks, play, go to the zoo and adventure together. Granted, my kids are little. But this is a good reminder that you are in charge of what goes on your calendar. I know tons of people who have young kids and are scheduled to the max. Sports, teams, practices, classes and there is very little down time.
I know it's not reasonable to delete everything from your calendar and that life looks different with older kids who are interested in a variety of things. I'm just suggesting that you be super intentional with your obligations. Removing one or two things from your schedule will free up a little extra time for your family!
I want to be the friend that encourages you to do less and enjoy more. Enjoy your days instead of running around like crazy and let your kids PLAY. It is so good for them to be creative, to practice compromising, to invent, to build and to explore. Do more of that!
I've got some fun pictures for you from our weekend. We stuck close to home all weekend and things took a surprising turn when we found bunnies hopping around our side yard! It was time for them to hop the nest and we got a front row seat. They only stuck around for a day, but we're keeping our eyes peeled for more bunny sightings. The farmers were busy in their fields and the road crews were working on the road behind our house. Leo loved all the traffic.
Big hugs from me to you!
I hope you get lots of positive comments on this post because it is golden!! We need more mama voices telling hesitant moms that they DON'T have to follow the culture and run themselves ragged! I love hearing that none of yours are involved in scheduled activities. There is such pressure to have even a 3yo in everything from ballet to soccer and I just don't think it is good for their little minds and hearts to be so constantly busy instead of having free time to create, explore, and just play. I'm sure there will be a time when we will allow our kids to be involved in things (though even then it will probably be at a much older age than many start, and I hope we can keep it in its rightful place!) but for now we all are so much happier living with lots of margin and being able to think of fun things we want to do as a family since our lives aren't already dictated by a full calendar. Our country seems so quick to want to turn all the little kids into little adults...I want my kiddos to have their childhoods as long as possible!
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts! And adorable bunnies!!!
Yes, yes, YES! I see parents who are almost literally dizzy from the constant running around they do, and kids who are never home. I love that you're being a cheerleader for this cause! I believe that it's important to build good memories and strong bonds with your siblings, because they are the ones who will be in your life through adulthood. Staying home and having fun together is such a good way to facilitate that. I am happy to join your "do less and enjoy more" team! <3
ReplyDelete1000% agree with you, friend! So well said. And, bunnies!!!!! 🤩🤩🤩
ReplyDeleteI love this post! Less is definitely more. I will always be grateful for our move to England when the kids were in elementary school. This drastically slowed down our schedule and took us off of the suburban activity fast track. There just weren't many after school activities there, and it generally wasn't expected. We left a school in Tx with a 20 minute recess with a required lap around the playground and landed in a school with 3 recesses each day, rain or shine. Even middle school kids had breaks during the day. I could go on and on about the differences, but it really helped ME see that less is more.
ReplyDeleteThis is it! I still have very very littles and we get overwhelmed going out to places. It is easier to stay home right now. I'm still decluttering our house and it's nice to see things leave. Still working on not bringing things back in. Still working on less tv and screens. I'm hoping we're outside more this summer. Thanks for posting this ans being that cheerleader for me. Especially if it is later when I read!
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