Our life was on hold for the past year or so it seemed...why? we as a family allowed albeit slowly a sports activity to infiltrate our lives so that in the end that was all we were doing. It was NOT a life. Along with other reasons we pulled back, reflected, made some different choices....it was one of the hardest and best decisions we have made.
As a parent in today's western society we want our kids INVOLVED. This means we run our kids all over town, eating on the run, living out of our cars just so the kids can have what exactly? An activity-centric life where your whole world revolves around that activity, your discussions are all about that activity, your meals are planned around that activity, you even find yourself doing the laundry for just that activity despite the load of laundry you just left on the floor wet because you need your ___to be dry before you have to leave. All of this craziness is designed to give your kid that mythical edge for their future~and lets face it for the most part it is a myth because MOST kids who start that activity when they are 6 are not going to want to be giving up their life to it when they are a teen. And VERY FEW kids make the big leagues, get the scholarships, get the sponsors...seriously people DO THE MATH the STATS don't lie! And when you reflect on your life do you want to know that your kid only did that activity because you wanted them to? Is this your dream or theirs? If your kid showed signs they needed a break or to stop something entirely would you notice? Would you talk to them about how they feel?
We have taught our girls that if something you used to love to do is not going the way you want it.....talk about it, reflect and make the changes you feel is right. Our girls have both left other activities in the past, things they had done for a while, with our full support. I feel like the girls have the strength in life to say 'when' and make a change even if it goes against the crowd...to be true to themselves. There is always sadness when a chapter closes and then excitement for the next adventure. This particular transition was hard, VERY hard. It was an extremely unpopular decision that we made, it caused a lot of stress but the minute we actually did it we knew it was the right direction because our relief was tangible. We could actually see the kids relax. And this time we did not leave the activity entirely we decided to join another group and suddenly our kids were finding the FUN again and really isn't that what IT is really about, the KIDS having F-U-N???!!!
As the weeks have passed we realized how much we had given up~how much this activity had eaten into the routines and rituals that made us a family. Our family ties were dying a slow death, our closeness destroyed because we had allowed this to pick away at our lives. Oh don't even roll your eyes, who are you kidding you CAN'T have it ALL....oh we tried to have balance at first but when you are exhausted from running and running in different directions it is easy to get into bad habits. What had we had given up! What a lesson indeed!
We don't expect to be the same family we were BEFORE but we do know that we are a stronger family. We know that we are stronger and healthier~better prepared for next time. What a ride, what a journey!
All this time to rest and reflect has found the girls creating again in their various mediums...G1 really wanted to create her own poster of a character in one of her favorite video games.......(she started this a while ago but was finally able to finish it YAY)....
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| Sketching a character from one of her favorite video games. |
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| Painting the poster of her original sketch of a character from a favorite video game. |
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| Finished poster |
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| ripping paper and glueing |
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| Paper Collage Chimera |
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| Fashion Collaging |
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| More fashion collaging |
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| Finished fashion collage |
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| Close up of the vintage buttons LOVE the 80s look of the chain one at the top |
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| Original Thrift Store Skirt |
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| Finished skirt redo |
Got to run have a bunch more thrift store finds to redo before school starts...serious how cool is this...grab a few plain shirts, some leggings and you have lots of outfits to mix and match at very low cost! What will you create today?
