Happy New Year, SwimWest families! It’s already off to a good start for those of us that were happy to see the snow piles melt over the weekend – and that’s not to mention the amazing Packers win yesterday. Welcome, welcome, welcome 2023!
As we all march into another year, there’s no better time to review your family schedule, adjust activities, make plans for the spring, summer and fall and just take a minute to get organized. Whether you’re ready to hit the ground running, or need a motivation boost to get back into your normal routine, it’s a great time to start another year with a SPLASH!
For me, I love to look through a brand new calendar. I love all the open squares and I love penciling in vacations, birthdays, days off and other fun events. Less fun? Penciling in activity, after activity. (Yes, I do still use a paper calendar and I love it! I’ll never switch!) All those little white squares fill up with STUFF. And even if it’s fun, or even if I’m so, so happy to have activities and events to look forward to, it can be a bit overwhelming. That’s why i also love to make sure everything on my family’s calendar really needs to be there.
Ask yourself: does your child still enjoy those dance classes? Do they need a break from sports? Have they been getting more homework and feeling stressed because of a lack of after-school time? Do they need more breathing space to get outside, play with friends or read a book? If there are activities that just don’t seem to “fit” anymore, for whatever reason, figure out if they can be removed. While quitting a team isn’t usually an option (or fair to the other players), maybe there are month to month classes you can cancel? Maybe you can give the piano teacher notice that your child needs a breaK?
I love being busy. Sometimes that means I overplan – not just my OWN life, but my kids’ lives, too. And sometimes, I need a reminder that kids might need to have a break once in a while.
If stopping an activity isn’t an option (like if you’ve already paid), see if you can build in time on those open calendar squares for…nothing. Schedule unscheduled time, if you know what I mean? Use that time to do whatever you (or your kids) want to do. Rest? Read a book? Play a game together? Take a walk? Activities are amazing, and kids are lucky to have a million enrichment options here in the Madison area, but it’s also amazing to just slow down once in a while.
Happy New Year, all! I hope your year is filled with peace, joy and adventure!