Thursday, September 19, 2013

just a rant....

so.  if you know me.  you know i'm rather old fashioned.
I wear aprons. (not while teaching)
we don't have cable, satellite tv...or whatever it is called.
we don't have video games.
I just started texting last year...
cities sort of overwhelm me.  except for Chicago. I like Chicago.
adam is the same way.  he is NOT a good texter.
he HATES cities.
it's just, well, it's just us....
and it works.
we are kind of at a fork in the road with the girls...
many of our family friends are very into sports and extra curricular activities
(disclaimer, i'm not looking down on anyone...this is just my opinion)
hours are spent at practices, games, tournaments....
anne has not proven to be a stellar athlete.  she gets it honest.  adam and I aren't either.
and that's okay with us.
last year, soccer was not fun.  for any of the W's in our house....
she cried, or moped, or faked injury through most of it.
when Saturday came and she asked if we had a game, she got misty eyed.
I decided this wasn't going to happen again.
registration happened.  anne did not sign up.
she was a taken aback slightly by that, but I explained what last year was like and she remembered. 
she likes it for the social aspect.  but HATES to run.
so we bowed out.
because kate is just in kindergarten, we haven't started down that road.  she is just trying to figure out if she makes a left or a right down the hall.  i'm not sure if she needs anything more....
anne is involved in:
girlscouts
choir
pottery
science club
destination imagination...
(all add up to recipe for dork...i know)
i was asked this summer, 'what exactly does SHE like?'
momma bear claws came to the surface.
i explained that anne prefers non competitive things and while sometimes it seems different, or weird, and has proven to be hard to find venues or activities to promote her interests...this is just how it.
and we.are.fine.with.that.

the fork of the road that i am at is....
is it okay that she isn't in sports?
when i was in school, we didn't have sports in kindergarten.  our school didn't start it until 5th grade.  i tried it, and the years that they had try-outs, i didn't make it, and i bowed out gracefully.  but i tried.
anne tried. at a much younger age.  if she wants to do it again will we encourage her? of course.  but right now it didn't fit. 
is that bad?
should i *make* her do it only to create tears and reasons to lie about ailments (from her).  i don't like that.
should we encourage avenues that she is interested in...even if its just a spot that she is comfortable with right now?  maybe it won't continue, or maybe it will.  but if SHE likes it.  that's what we want.

is it okay that we don't spend our weekends running from event to event?
sometimes we do....
but usually not.
last weekend we went to the farmers market.
that was perfect.
and we went out to eat.
as a family for lunch.
the girls couldn't believe we went to a 'dinner place at lunch.'
it was just great.
easy.
care free...
old fashioned.

but we are often looked weirdly at.
i feel awkward telling others we don't play sports or spend hours at dance studios etc...
we just hang out.
we try to sew.  we build summer homes in the driveway for our babies (out of large boxes..)
i shouldn't feel guilty. but i sort of do.
it's just us...and that's how we work best.
calm, not running like crazy, i just can't do that.
and i'm okay with that.
i just had to say it all.out.loud.
~chat soon!



2 comments:

  1. I've never had any regret about skipping the sports scene-- our kids have pursued other things that interested them- musical instruments, art, Scouts, dog agility, drill teams-- I LOVE that our weekends aren't spent on the sidelines and deciding between the team and church or an outing or just bumming at home. :) robin

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  2. I think you know your kids and you know your boundries! Plus, even as someone who was athletic throughout grade school, high school, and college, I don't think it's healthy that we have kids so over-scheduled at such young ages!

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