Resisting The Urge to Over Schedule

Clover bird watching through our front window

I have been so fortunate to connect with an awesome network of homeschoolers this year and as a result we have had a very full social calendar! I really hate to miss out on anything that sounds fun so I tend to jump at an invitation as soon as it comes up. The problem is that myself and my kids are rather introverted and as much as we love our new group of friends we all really need some down time to be happy and content.

Today we had planned to go to a really fun sounding nature walk with a group of friends but Echo kept insisting she didn't want to go (we had a playdate at the park yesterday with another group of friends that wore her out). At first I was inclined to argue with her and make her go, thinking that she would have had fun once we got there. On the other hand there is no reason we had to go, this kind of thing is supposed to be enjoyable and it's supposed to be for Echo. Why make her go if she says she doesn't want to? The more I thought about it the more I decided I could use a day to rest myself and so we decided to cancel.

Of course me being me I felt totally guilty about it but I think taking time to relax at home and and recharge is really important for all of us. We need those quiet days to stay sane and I really have to watch myself to keep from over scheduling and stressing everyone out! So today we will spend a peaceful day around the house and rest up for tomorrow's activities. Sometimes Echo seems to know exactly what our family needs and I just have to listen to her!

I feel so lucky to have so many amazing opportunities to connect with other homeschooling families and I am so grateful to have a ton of invitations for fun things to do. I am just working on finding the right balance for us of activity and rest.