The Allure of an Overscheduled Family

Hi. My name is Kendra, and I’m an over-scheduler.

Oh, you have free time on weeknights and weekends? That’s nice. We have baseball twice a week, soccer twice a week, PTO and church meetings out the wazoo, and my husband and I both work full-time. I’m about to sign the little one up for Blastball which I guess is some cross between baseball and something else. Who knows. But he needs to be in some sort of organized activity so he quits asking me when he’ll get to play ALL THE SPORTS just like his brother.

Baseball

I don’t say this to make you feel bad or make me out to be some sort of supermom. I really don’t, and I’m really not. Because on the one day I forgot my phone at home I had to email people to let them know I was completely phone free and could only be reached by email. I also forgot what night I had made plans with a friend and had a slight {read: major} freak out. And my house is a wreck except on the weekend day of my choosing that is designated as “cleaning day”.

Here’s the deep, dark secret about my overly-busy schedule: I love it. I love knowing that our evenings and weekends will be spent not on electronics but with each other. I know that my boys will be pretty healthy due to all the practices and time spent outdoors. Heck, we may not even find time for dinner, so I may lose a few pounds myself. Who am I kidding, those fruit snacks and goldfish meant for the toddler sure come in handy…but I digress.

Girl Scouts
Me, bridging from a Brownie. My mom is on the right.

I think this may be a family trait, because growing up my brother and I were in multiple sports that my dad coached. I was also in Girl Scouts with my mom as a troop leader, and both my brother and I were in some BB gun shooting club. (You know you’re in Kansas when…). My mom went back to college, and my dad played competitive softball until I was a tween. So there was some sort of activity for someone in the family just about every day. But we had fun and were together. I think it just comes down to knowing what you want to do with your time and making the most of it.

Friday Night Lights

As an over-scheduler, the one rule I have for myself is making sure the things we choose to do are worth it. There are so many opportunities, and we obviously can’t do them all. If it’s not something I have to attend, I make a choice and don’t look back. That Pampered Chef party? Yeah, I’d really like to go but not if it means burning the one free evening I have. If there’s an online catalog I’d love to get a new spatula! The birthday party for the kid who we’re not really friends with? Thanks, but no thanks. Hanging out with grandpa and their cousin at Friday Night Football? Yes please!

So, over-schedulers of the world unite with me, and take a deep breath, and know that these days shall pass. A little too quickly, but we will have made the most of our time!

Kendra Fernandez
Kendra lives in Derby with her husband Leonard and her two boys- Leo and Jacoby. She works in downtown Wichita but spends most of the rest of her waking hours wrangling two crazy boys. You will more than likely find them at a game or practice. Besides spending time with her family Kendra loves to read and watch Game of Thrones, HGTV marathons and the Royals! She is also very active in PTO at her sons' school and is always trying to find ways to interact with other parents.