End of the year Girl Scouts party – check.
End of the year Boy Scouts party – check.
Last soccer game – check.
Dance recital – check.
Gymnastics expo – almost.
Last baseball game – this month.
Check by check, I see my time coming back to me as the kids’ activities start to wind down now that the school year has ended. For just about a month, we’ll have no obligations and activities. I can’t believe football practice starts at the end of July, but there it is. In the meantime, we’re ready for a few summer camps, a trip to see grandpa in Washington state and maybe a family vacation to New York/New Jersey area.
In the next couple of weeks, we have some big decisions to make. If my daughter stays in soccer, she moves up to the age bracket that travels. This means we won’t have time to also do dance, gymnastics and maybe not even Girl Scouts. I don’t think she really likes playing the game per se, but I do know she loves the group of girls that she’s been playing with for years.
My son took a year off of football and is going back this year, and that will be a big change, too. Practice is several days during the week plus a game on the weekend. So while our calendar is clearing, it’s the calm before the fall storm. 
I don’t try to push them into anything and the hardest thing is to limit their activities and say no, you can’t try softball right now because you already have x, y and z you’ve committed to. How do you know when you have the right balance for each child? When they can get their homework done every night?
Don’t get me wrong – I love going to see my kids performing and doing what they love. It may be a juggling act at times but we’re all happy, healthy and learning valuable skills for the future.
Tonja's Travels 