Even when you lose, you win

When school let out for summer break, Brock and I made a conscious decision to keep Thing 1, who just turned five, out of organized activities. The pressure to get your kid "involved" at a young age is intense, especially in a city like Ft. Collins where Jaxson has already earned his black belt in Karate, Kayden is reading at a third grade level and Little Lily is in her 4th year of dance before Kindergarten Roundup. Yet I bravely evaded the 21st Century parenting "requirements" and attempted to navigate the choppy waters of "unstructured play". I decided to let the children do important creative childhood activities, like play with earth worms, toads, bubbles, cardboard boxes and each other.

Who needs soccer when you have a soda flat?

My ultimate goal was to keep one last summer for our family so that we can do whatever we want to do, whenever we want to do it. One last summer without the organized activities that come with strict schedules and Saturdays dedicated to Soccer games or T-ball tournaments. One last summer for impromptu camping trips, day hikes and farmer's markets. One last summer of pure fun.

Some good old fashioned fun in the backyard
(making little brother do all the work)

Just as I wished, my summer has been full of last minute decisions to take trips to the mountains for hiking and horseback riding. We have spent multiple nights in our friends' cabin, where we enjoyed hamburgers and lemonade under the crystal blue Colorado skies. We have had no schedule. We have filled our children's lives with parades, rodeos, ponies, parks, BBQ's and nature. They have spent so much time in the dirt that the bathtub looks like a sandbox every evening after bath time. Thing 1 learned to ride a bike and Thing 2 discovered his love of ants. We planted a garden and have eaten pea pods out of it while warming ourselves in the sun, throwing the stick for Red Dog and admiring at our newly planted flowers. We have been "organized activity" free, just as I planned, and I have never been more exhausted in my entire freaking life.

Thing 1, Blizzard and I in the Rooptop Rodeo Parade.

Yes, this seriously happened.

As I type this, my overstimulated children are simultaneously screaming from the rooms that I separated them into, trying to destroy my happiness...my collagen... my metabolism their nap time. Every evening I hear them jumping on their beds two hours past their bedtime and yet they wake before me and are eagerly waiting for me with demands of food when I stumble from my room each morning. My normally brilliant sleepers have morphed into overtired, grocery store screaming, Popsicle demanding, toy hoarders who fight non-stop and make me burst into tears at 7:30 a.m. (hypothetically speaking, of course). All in all, my plan for an easy breezy summer clearly failed and I can't WAIT for some organized activities so that they have some FOCUS and attention that doesn't come from ME.

What have I learned from this breakdown lesson? That if you look haggard and sound distressed every time your husband sees you, he will sense that you are teetering on the brink of sanity and HE WILL BUY YOU AWESOME COWBOY BOOTS AND INSIST YOU GO TO BLOGHER 2012.

I bought my tickets this morning and I can't WAIT to meet you crazy broads! Watch out New York City!

Peace, Love and a Good Night's Sleep,
Johi



What's that? You want to see the boots?

Okaaayyyyy....