This was not the world’s most relaxing weekend. There were a lot of kid things going on that required more parental involvement than originally envisioned.
The 17-year-old did a singing competition where he had multiple appearances in front of judges (not low stress!). I had sort of assumed he could just drive himself there (it was 30 minutes away) but since he is under 18 he was required to have a chaperone. Fortunately I found this out before the actual competition itself (phew!), but it did require some recalculating of the weekend to make sure everyone else still had rides.
We also had a swim meet on Sunday for the 9-year-old that was on my calendar as a “swim team carnival” — I sort of assumed it was a drop in Halloween-themed thing…but then my husband told me it was a meet. And the 9-year-old was in several events. I also made myself available to the 17-year-old as he was filling out college apps — not low-stress!
(Though I remind myself and him that he has been admitted to one of our flagship state schools already, and any other applications are just if-he-wants-to extra. Also, the 9-year-old did really well! He is fast.)
There were multiple Halloween parties, kid get-togethers, a music lesson and such. But, before I construct a narrative that I didn’t have any time for myself this weekend, I can look back on my log and remind myself of a few highlights.
For instance, on Friday afternoon I went for a walk with a friend in a nearby nature preserve. The leaves were very pretty! I also sat on the hammock for 30 minutes reading a magazine.
On Saturday, in between rounds of this singing competition (I decided to drive us back home for a bit in between) I went for a 40-minute run in a different nearby nature preserve. Also pretty!
On Sunday, I hit up the big kids to babysit the 4-year-old while my husband was at the swim meet, and I went on a scheduled tour of the Woodmont Estate not too far from my house. This house has quite an interesting history (it’s still run by the Peace Mission Movement) and I’d never been inside, so I took the opportunity. Fascinating. Then the 17-year-old invited me to go to a pumpkin-carving party with him — one of his friend’s families was hosting, and he said parents could come too. I was flattered to be invited and had a good time.
So, still a lot of good stuff. And I worked a bit on my puzzle – which is harder than I’d planned on. The pieces are randomly shaped, meaning a straight edge doesn’t mean it’s an edge piece…ugh. Slow progress…
In other news: I collaborated with the PeachTree Virtual Assistant agency (which I have used for my VAs!) to produce a “Time management playbook.” This has lots of practical tips on organizing your time. You can download it from their website at this link. (Scroll down to the second line or so).
Photo: Fall light and flowers