Finding Time for Nothing

Could life get any busier?  Isn’t that awful that that was the first thought that went through my mind last night at the FFA Banquet?  Jenny got up and sang a beautiful rendition of Friends in Low Places…yes that’s right I said beautiful.  It was an FFA Banquet after all, she had to sing something country, and well, yes, my daughter would pick that song, and with her bluesy voice you almost forgot what the song was about…friends in low places.  Then Nan won The Star Greenhand award.  Yes smiling giggling Nan who has to be to every FFA thing even if her group wasn’t in charge.  Then of course came the selection of officers.  Nan’s office on the committee is Auditor and Jenny, well Jenny got Secretary. 

Now can you see why the thought that went through my mind was…”Can life possibly get any busier?”  I was really excited for both the girls.  How could I not be?  But with Miss Nephi for the next year and a million FFA things, a daughter who is becoming a senior, Jason’s work, all of our dances, life as the Young Women’s President with a yearlong Youth Conference on a ward level, soccer season soon to start and oh, yeah, a wedding in June life is going to get even busier!

I saw a spot on our local news about mom’s putting their kids in too many activities and how our children get so involved in so many things that they don’t know how to handle down time.  How activities are important but at the same time children need to remember how to be children and sometimes their lives need to not be so structured.  It talked about all the stress that these children face that we didn’t use to face.  You know that mom that has their kid in everything?  I sure do.  Every dance class, singing class, youth sport, craft class, acting class, plays every instrument and in every school program that exists.  I often wonder how that child can grow up to be anything but an overly stressed adult who doesn’t know how to relax.  I’m mean pick up a book already and snuggle down, or better yet grab up the neighborhood kids and play an awesome game of whiffle ball in the back yard.  Ride your bike, run through a sprinkler, sit and talk and talk some more.

Sure my girls take piano and Sam and Steph play soccer but quite honestly by the time soccer season was done and I had spent the last million weeks running from one game to another, sometimes dividing my time running between two kids’ games going on at the same time when Sam wanted to do football I thought that I would die.  But make it through we did, but I’m telling you just barely.  You add in scouts and achievement days and Young Women’s and dances on the weekends and every other normal routine I couldn’t help but wonder how not the children survive but the moms who have their child in everything.  You know it makes me tired even thinking about it.

Summer is almost here which means as always crazy things on the Gibson household and part of me wants to cry when I think of it.  May is end of year everything with every school, whether it involves our own kids’ school or others with our business or both, May is out of control.  Then we have an out of town family reunion the first week of June, Sam’s Birthday and Luke’s wedding the second week, girls camp the third week with Jason and my anniversary thrown in the middle.  Edurocross at the Fairgrounds, and a car show in Fillmore the next week that we do sound for.

July continues with a tornado of things to do.  4^th of July the first week.  Stampede the second.  Big Youth Conference out of town Week the next.  Twenty fourth of July the next with Stephanie’s birthday.

August is Cove Fort Days followed by Juab County fair the next week.  The next week is the Miss Nebo pageant that Jason does lights for two days for with the next week being Beaver County that we do sound and photo booth for, for three days.  And then of course back to school week for our kids and back to school week for BYU which is crazy for two weeks. 

Throw in on top of all of that BYU activities all summer long that we do sound or giant movie screen for and oh yeah, Miss Nephi.  See Jenny's off today for her first of many Miss Nephi things, casual today as it may be, but... you get the drift.  (Isn't she pretty though? :) )

Somehow in all of the craziness we will find time to have a lazy barbeque and even take our kids to the local ponds here to swim.  Somehow I will find time to read another novel and do yard work, plant the garden and just sit back and watch nature in its full beauty.

Yeah I guess I can’t understand why any mom, or child for that matter would want to heap so much on their plates, when the plates all seem to be filling themselves up on their own.  Why would we want to pile them so high that our body is at a buffet all of the time?  You know what that would do, don’t you?  Make us fat…very, very fat.

I’m grateful for a mother who knew the importance of down time and relax time and most of all family time.  I have a husband who is absolutely amazing but can never sit still…ever.  When he doesn’t have a dance on the weekends, which is only a few times a year, he goes stir crazy not having something to do.  And I am content just to sit here and read a good book or chat in the front room.  And very little seems to stress me out in life and somehow I think that goes with the ability to do nothing if the time allows.  So here’s to finding time to do exactly that this summer…nothing.  Time to sit back and enjoy all that Heavenly Father has given me and time to look inside a little bit and look at who I am becoming.  And I wish you the same, because really the best things in life come when things are quiet and we can really enjoy.