My parents held the firm belief that my younger brother and I could not sit at home and be couch potatoes. We had to be involved in something year-round. Art, music, sports, it didn't matter, as long as we were doing something. I don't remember minding this decree as we had 4 TV channels. Yes you read that correctly. 4. Our grandmother got us a Nintendo game system for Christmas one year but I never got into gaming - too boring.
We were involved in soccer, skiing, gymnastics, piano, middle school band and chorus, swimming, football, basketball.... As we progressed into our teen years and high school, the number of things we were involved in gradually tapered off as we found activities we both enjoyed and were good at. Football, skiing, and basketball for my brother and swimming, skiing, and soccer for me.
My husband, R, was also active when he was younger - hockey, baseball, and soccer, but he didn't have the same directive for activity that I did. If he wanted to play a sport or participate in an activity like Mock Trial, it was at his own initiative.
When we decided to have children, I suggested that our children have the same directive that I had grown up with - you will not be a couch potato/ you will be involved in something year-round! Thankfully, he fully supports this.
And so, our children were put on hockey skates and skis at 2 years old. The skis they took too, the skates, they did not. They participated in music class until we couldn't fit it into the schedule. They take swim lessons and play Kangaroo Kicker soccer (adorable by the way). They do CrossFit Kids classes and gymnastics and they both LOVE these activities. Now that G is in kindergarten and aftercare, he also goes to Brickz 4 Kids and MAD Science and is obsessed with playing flag football once he gets to first grade. F is consumed by gymnastics but also wants to try wrestling when he's a little older. Once we move into our new house, one of our initial purchases is going to be a piano and a guitar so the boys can learn to play an instrument. (I may even take a turn at the keys and play again!)
I love that my kids are busy and active. I'm hopeful that all the running around contributes to earlier bedtimes! I also hope that it helps them navigate the social scene at school and introduces them to lifelong friends. I hope that it sets the stage for healthy living and exercise habits for the rest of their lives. I hope they do not get overwhelmed with it all.
I also hope that R and I can survive the exhaustion that comes not just from running the boys around to play dates, birthday parties, sports practices and games/meets, but also the mental exhaustion of organizing and maintaining their schedules as well as our own.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Tuesday's Ramblings
Yesterday was long. It was Monday, of course. It was also the kiddos busiest day of the week.
After spending all day at school, and for G, some time in after care, they head off to an hour long gymnastics class. G's class is from 5:15-6:15pm and F's class is from 6-7pm. At least the classes are in the same location and thankfully, we have the resources to secure the services of a nanny to transport them to their activities so that I can both work AND get in a workout. I know we are lucky and am thankful every second of every day for my husband's job which allows for these opportunities. After my workout, I rush to pick-up G from his gymnastics class and get him to his swim lesson from 6:30-7pm. The nanny stays with F and meets us at the pool when he's done.
I am proud of my boys. They are smart, sweet (mostly), curious and stubborn in the extreme, independent, athletic, I could go on and on but you get the idea. Yesterday, after F's gymnastics class, the coach asked him (and the nanny) to tell me that F is doing very well in class and that the coach is very proud of the progress he's making. (F's been in this particular class for 2 sessions so far, and he's the youngest and smallest by a significant amount.) F was so excited about something he did in class - he climbed to the ceiling of the gym using the rope without help and without using his feet and rang the bell at the top! He shouted this to me as we stood outside the middle school natatorium in the snow. This is a big deal for him as he'd only made it about half way up the rope on previous attempts. He's also the only one in the class to have made it the whole way up and down without help.
The first session of F's new gymnastics class I was able to sit and watch. The way they teach gymnastics now is different than I remember myself or my brother learning. The coach has the class rotate through 4-6 apparatus practicing one element - a swing motion under the bar, for instance - and incorporating some strength exercises designed to help with that single movement. The first session, the class worked on swinging from the "high" bar. (I put high in quotes as the training bars are not very high even though the kids have to jump to reach it.)
Watching F in this new class I got to see him struggle. The second rotation had him on the second of the "high" bars and using a mat to jump up to reach it. Both the bar and the mat were set in a way that made it easy for the other boys in the class to jump and reach the bar. F, however, is much smaller than all the other boys in the class. He tried twice to reach the bar with the mat set for the taller and older boys. Each time he fell on his butt. For his third attempt he eyed up the bar and the mat before moving the mat closer to the bar, standing on it and plotting his jump with a deeper squat, putting all his energy and force into his legs to propel himself high enough to reach the bar. And again, he fell on his butt. But his fingers had brushed the bar this time. He eyed the mat once again and re-positioned it slightly closer to the bar (it looked like he only moved it an inch closer from where I sat). He sank down into a squat, built the tension in his butt and hamstrings, and launched himself up and caught the bar! I saw the grin on his face before he dropped down and moved to the next rotation.
Watching him struggle and solve the problem successfully was difficult (I wanted to run across the gym and help him and yes, I know that would have been a terrible idea). And it was also an incredible moment for me as his mom - his dad and I had helped in tiny minute ways to enable him to do that. We had helped to instill in him the desire to succeed even at this small moment in a gymnastics class.
I know other parents can relate when I say that there are few things that will make a parent swell with pride for their child, then when a teacher/coach/instructor/mentor tells you how well your child is doing and how proud they are of him/her.
After spending all day at school, and for G, some time in after care, they head off to an hour long gymnastics class. G's class is from 5:15-6:15pm and F's class is from 6-7pm. At least the classes are in the same location and thankfully, we have the resources to secure the services of a nanny to transport them to their activities so that I can both work AND get in a workout. I know we are lucky and am thankful every second of every day for my husband's job which allows for these opportunities. After my workout, I rush to pick-up G from his gymnastics class and get him to his swim lesson from 6:30-7pm. The nanny stays with F and meets us at the pool when he's done.
I am proud of my boys. They are smart, sweet (mostly), curious and stubborn in the extreme, independent, athletic, I could go on and on but you get the idea. Yesterday, after F's gymnastics class, the coach asked him (and the nanny) to tell me that F is doing very well in class and that the coach is very proud of the progress he's making. (F's been in this particular class for 2 sessions so far, and he's the youngest and smallest by a significant amount.) F was so excited about something he did in class - he climbed to the ceiling of the gym using the rope without help and without using his feet and rang the bell at the top! He shouted this to me as we stood outside the middle school natatorium in the snow. This is a big deal for him as he'd only made it about half way up the rope on previous attempts. He's also the only one in the class to have made it the whole way up and down without help.
The first session of F's new gymnastics class I was able to sit and watch. The way they teach gymnastics now is different than I remember myself or my brother learning. The coach has the class rotate through 4-6 apparatus practicing one element - a swing motion under the bar, for instance - and incorporating some strength exercises designed to help with that single movement. The first session, the class worked on swinging from the "high" bar. (I put high in quotes as the training bars are not very high even though the kids have to jump to reach it.)
Watching F in this new class I got to see him struggle. The second rotation had him on the second of the "high" bars and using a mat to jump up to reach it. Both the bar and the mat were set in a way that made it easy for the other boys in the class to jump and reach the bar. F, however, is much smaller than all the other boys in the class. He tried twice to reach the bar with the mat set for the taller and older boys. Each time he fell on his butt. For his third attempt he eyed up the bar and the mat before moving the mat closer to the bar, standing on it and plotting his jump with a deeper squat, putting all his energy and force into his legs to propel himself high enough to reach the bar. And again, he fell on his butt. But his fingers had brushed the bar this time. He eyed the mat once again and re-positioned it slightly closer to the bar (it looked like he only moved it an inch closer from where I sat). He sank down into a squat, built the tension in his butt and hamstrings, and launched himself up and caught the bar! I saw the grin on his face before he dropped down and moved to the next rotation.
Watching him struggle and solve the problem successfully was difficult (I wanted to run across the gym and help him and yes, I know that would have been a terrible idea). And it was also an incredible moment for me as his mom - his dad and I had helped in tiny minute ways to enable him to do that. We had helped to instill in him the desire to succeed even at this small moment in a gymnastics class.
I know other parents can relate when I say that there are few things that will make a parent swell with pride for their child, then when a teacher/coach/instructor/mentor tells you how well your child is doing and how proud they are of him/her.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Journal Entry #1
Hello World,
It's 2016! The start of a brand new year, when we all get to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.
I'm not much into making New Year's resolutions but this year I've decided to try something new - a journal. My only experience with a journal is the one I kept during a college year studying abroad. What a walk down memory lane that was when I found it the other day while packing up for our move!
It got me thinking though. In the back of my mind, I've always wanted to write a book...someday. I don't know what this future book would be about or when I would sit down to do such an out-of-character activity. And if I'm being honest, I'm not a very good writer. Oh, I can string words and phrases together so that ideas make sense, but that doesn't make me a WRITER. And I know there are lots and lots of books out there that were written quite poorly. But I don't want "my book" to be one of them. This means I must practice. So here I am, practicing.
If you're reading this, my apologies. I hope to someday be better at this. It may not happen, but I hope that it does.
It's 2016! The start of a brand new year, when we all get to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.
I'm not much into making New Year's resolutions but this year I've decided to try something new - a journal. My only experience with a journal is the one I kept during a college year studying abroad. What a walk down memory lane that was when I found it the other day while packing up for our move!
It got me thinking though. In the back of my mind, I've always wanted to write a book...someday. I don't know what this future book would be about or when I would sit down to do such an out-of-character activity. And if I'm being honest, I'm not a very good writer. Oh, I can string words and phrases together so that ideas make sense, but that doesn't make me a WRITER. And I know there are lots and lots of books out there that were written quite poorly. But I don't want "my book" to be one of them. This means I must practice. So here I am, practicing.
If you're reading this, my apologies. I hope to someday be better at this. It may not happen, but I hope that it does.
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