Catching up

It has been nearly three weeks. I have missed this room of my own. Last night at dinner with some friends, I discovered that most mothers and fathers are on child education duty till at least nine every night. Well, it started with my complaint. I like to have a glass of wine at night before bed. This helps me calm down a little after the whole day's marathon. My hubby thinks I'm on my way to becoming an alcoholic. Now, I have no desire whatsoever of becoming an alcoholic. On the other hand, I also do not want to give up on that glass of fermented grape juice that promises so much...happiness, a generally amiable look upon my fellow beings and most of all, sleep.

Well, as I complained that I'm sure this is ok, I found out that both our friends did the exact same thing!! I was not a crazy drunk lady!! Further in the conversation it became clear just how much time parents invest in school and extracurriculars--my sons go to soccer pratice and games twice a week each, Mondays through Thursdays. The older one has French on Tuesdays and piano on Thursdays. My husband and I like to work out with our trainer twice a week, usually on Mondays and Thursdays. Throw in homework, projects, show and tell days and we're working pretty much full time till 9 p.m.!

This is a very average routine. I'm sure there are plenty of parents out there who do much much more. But why does it have to be this stressful? I mean, I understand the importance of developing skills, forming bonds through team sports yada yada. But does it have to be this rigorous? Whatever happened to Saturday morning soccer in the park? Hanging out with the neighborhood kids in the evenings and weekends? True, there wasn't much structure to these things so the net gain from these activities is not quantifiable. But I still remember the games of tag, the days when I played by myself because my neighbors were out of town, or the days when we played with their cousins visiting from elsewhere, even though the cousins were somewhat weird:-)

I sound like a old fart. Next I'll start my sentence with "in my day...". But given the amount of attention this consumer driven economy pays to stress relief and providing all kinds of advice on how to live better, this kind of pace just seems forced.

Whatever. I know I'll rant out here and then go back and add one more activity to the list. Because I want them to be better, faster, stronger, higher. Because I'm ambitious not only for myself but for an entire family and I'll probably stay this way till I keel over.

And that's how the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper. Thank you T.S.E.