The day had spun away faster than the last squares of toilet paper on the end of a roll. The clock announced my children’s bedtime, and I couldn’t be happier.
“Mom, can I quickly do something?” Leslie, my ten-year-old daughter, asked.
“Make it real quick.” I sighed, scanning over my endless to-do list, wondering if I could squeeze a few more things into the end of the day.
A few minutes later, Leslie placed a hand-drawn grid in front of me. The days of the week were written in perfect, fifth-grade cursive. “This is my schedule, and I’m stressed out. I have no free time.”
It was my daughter’s voice, but did I hear her right? Did she use the phrases, ‘My schedule?’
‘Stressed out?’ ‘No free time?’ Did these words come from a child?
Leslie ran her fingers over the squares. “Look. I have basketball two days a week and piano lessons on Tuesdays, not counting daily practice.”
As she continued on, I realized her brothers’ schedules were not much better. No wonder our lives had become hectic. Attempting to mesh my kids’ daily activities with my own was like attempting to squeeze another dirty pan into an already full dishwasher—no matter how things were rearranged, they just weren’t going to fit! My daughter and I discussed what could be cut.
“Let’s wait on swimming lessons,” I said. “And cut out art class altogether. That will free up Wednesdays and Fridays for just hanging out.”
I noted relief on Leslie’s face as she erased those items off her page.
“Thanks, Mom.” She scurried off to bed. “I feel better already.”
With the sound of her feet padding to her room, I turned to my own calendar, recalling something I’d read earlier that day: “We spend ten percent more than we have—and it no longer matters if one is talking about time, energy, or money,” wrote Richard A. Swenson, M.D., author of The Overload Syndrome. “We work hard, play hard, and crash hard.”
Seeing the relief on my daughter’s face at the thought of free time made me realize how far I’d let all our priorities get out of hand. It was time to stop the insanity.
I’ll post more about this on next week – about what God has taught me about priority – but what about you? Are you Overcommitted, Overloaded and Overwhelmed? What are you doing about it? Or what do you need to do about it?
Wow – You’ve been reading my journal, haven’t you?! That is, until about a month ago. We, too, had way too many commitments on our schedule. And people worry about homeschoolers being socialized! Anyway, this school year, I intentionally did not schedule as many outside classes and outings. (10th grade & 6th grade are a lot of work!) We were loving it! Then we got slammed with a financial crisis and had to cut out gymnastics and karate, the kids’ 2 favorite activities (1 each). While I feel bad that they don’t get to participate in those sports, I am not missing the laps around town that I used to make daily.
I’d love to find more balance in my life in the activities & commitments area. My big downfall currently is my daily schedule for schooling, homemaking, writing, and working at home.
Love your Tweets & can’t wait to read more of your blog!
~Bethany L.
(Write Editor on Twitter)
It’s so easy to get caught up in all the day-to-day activities that we neglect to make time to relax and simply enjoy life. I know I’m constantly guilty of this. It seems that American society places an undue emphasis on staying busy, even if there’s a better way to accomplish the many tasks at hand.
Unfortunately I am all three right now. Along with that I feel a sense of being underwhelmed by all that I’m feeling overwhelmed about. Not sure that is normal but then again I often wonderful what is.
I believe that God wants to parent us in the same way you parented your daughter. What a beautiful example.
Thank you for sharing it. I think I’ll take my schedule to Abba Father and see if He can help me make it more manageable.