In our part of Pennsylvania, things are in a very in-between stage. We’re all wearing masks (by law), and social distancing, but with that, various activities are still possible. My oldest kid is attending a teen art studio camp this week, learning how to do stage and screen make-up. The fake stab wounds were pretty ghastly, but he was quite proud of his work. And our local Little League has started up for a summer season. The 10-year-old is playing as he has for years, and the 8-year-old is doing softball. She had her first practice and game last night and absolutely loved it.
Two kids on two different teams in a shortened season means that suddenly we are…busy again. Four nights of baseball this week! I got dinner on the table at 5 p.m. last night to accommodate and we had the old familiar rush of trying to find everyone’s equipment. I strapped the baby in his carseat to go to a sibling’s practice and realized that he had not experienced this part of babyhood in our family. I am massively out of practice. I found a diaper and a pack of wipes and tossed them in the front seat since there’s been no need for a well-packed diaper bag.
In any case, it’s nice to have something for the kids to do again. Both baseball players were thrilled to be able to hang out with friends, even if they were wearing masks and doing drills more than 6 feet apart. I have no idea what the fall will bring but I have a new appreciation for kid activities. Four months of none will do that…
Curious if it feels more or less overwhelming with your 4th child being 5 and then a baby? I am completely overwhelmed with only two kids (just turned 3 and 1) and just cannot fathom how people have the energy to have large families though I can’t even forsee the 3 year old getting more independent, people tell me it will happen..
@Anon- babies are always hard. But yes, I do think it’s a bit easier to know that the other 4 can mostly be trusted around the house without constant supervision. The older 3 can actually watch the baby for a bit while I go do something. The 5-year-old is a little…high-energy…but that’s his personality, and I know that other 5 year olds are definitely mellowing and relish their independence. It will happen!
I coach high school cross country in Ohio and we have been doing summer conditioning for almost a month now, but we are still waiting to hear what our season will look like. It is difficult to plan the large race that we host every year, as well as plan our race schedule when we do not know if there will be restrictions in place for races. It is nice to be getting back into some sort of routine though!
@Ali – we just learned that the Philly races will be canceled for the fall. No marathon — so figuring out how I’ll recalibrate with that!
Haha. We drove by two baseball games last night, and the stands were packed with parents shoulder to shoulder. Idiots. I hope you know better than to do that.
@omdg – parents far apart, wearing masks, every team with a safety officer keeping watch.
Love it!
I love the safety officer idea…. as long as the parents take suggestions/corrections politely!
We have had golf and tennis camp for 4 weeks now and our martial arts studio is going to start outdoor classes as soon as the traffic barriers for the parking lot arrive. It is a little more normal.
We have also gotten some clarity on school. Based on the parameters set by the governor school will likely open in September in a hybrid model and our elementary school has already said all core classes will be taught in person. Art, music, PE and science will be remote which does take the pressure off parents of little at least. A small group of us are planning to do the remote part of learning together alternating backyards and which parent leads the group–as long as it continues to be safe in our area to do so. It helps to have some framework to think about planning.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I fear, in some ways, that this more recent new normal with WAY less activities, especially on the weekends, is actually more in line with how I feel happiest. (I just never really knew it, because we were always so busy!) However, we are all pretty invested in our kids’ activities at the same time (especially them!) so making the choice to deliberately back out of a bunch of stuff would be….difficult. We don’t have too much back up and running here yet except what feels like a nice amount- virtual piano lessons (LOVE! that I don’t need to drive and wait at the piano studio!), 1x weekly school band drum lesson and my youngest son does have 1x weekly open water swim and 2x weekly dryland, but we carpool for the open water with a close friend and the dryland is just up the street. No games, meets, multiple practices, and obviously no school activities. I have been feeling a little on edge lately thinking about how or what we might change long term to continue some of this more relaxed lifestyle that we’ve been enjoying, but I’m not really sure what the answer is. Once the wheels all eventually start spinning again, it feels like it’s hard to get off the ride.
I read 168 hours by Laura a few months ago and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Actually, for one my classes, we do a book project and each group is assigned a book and this spring semester, I assigned 168 hours to one group of students. Students enjoyed reading it and did a great presentation on the book.
On another note, my daughter (13) is a softball player and son (11) is a baseball player and ball season has started. Kids are really excited about it and I love watching their games while also trying to read a few chapters:)
Love your work, Laura.
@Rubab – thank you, I really appreciate it!