One of my resolutions this year is to not be too bogged down with too many obligations.
I'm sure there are some who enjoy never having a moment to just breath, but not me. With four kids we often find our self too busy. Like, waaaaaay too busy. Over the years we have slowly began to get out of so many activities and this winter we opted to take a break from sports and it has been great. I think we owe it to ourselves and our families to slow down, simplify, and just appreciate our blessings.
I love quiet evenings at home, when we are all together (sometimes a rare occurrence). Its tough having to run to and from practices and trying to get dinner on the table. I think its important to step back sometimes and cut back on things. Its a personal decision, but I think its really important to prioritize things in our lives. Sometimes this is really hard.
For instance, our oldest did gymnastics for over 5 years and eventually was invited to be on team. Her little sister followed in her footsteps. Her little sister who also played soccer. And softball. I literally didn't know how we would be able to fit in time for our oldest son to get to do anything. And this was before we added a fourth child to the mix. So we talked about it and we decided to step out of gymnastics for a while, completely.
With our obligations cut, this allowed us time for everyone to take a chance and explore a lot of other sports with out being too committed to just one.
Over the years we have learned that our kids don't have to play every single sport ever single year. They don't have to attend ever single camp or function they are invited to. I don't have to run myself ragged trying to make it all happen.
Over the years we have valued a more simple life. And we especially value our time together.
