November 19, 2010

Thankful for a Respite

Last night was Kyle's final baseball game of the season. It has been wonderful to see the boys, especially Kyle, develop their skills and begin to understand some of the strategy. There were several innings this season where they actually made plays to get kids out and many boys actually caught pop fly balls! Considering Kyle has never played baseball before, he did very well. He can run fast, so as long as he could hit to ball, he can usually get on base. He became better at catching a thrown ball, though grounders still get by him. Most importantly, he had a lot of fun and learned that it was okay to strike out, to get thrown out at a base, and to make mistakes. I am most thankful for the coaches, who did not have an ego complex, but who made sure the boys practiced and that they were in control in the dugout. I am, however, thankful that two of our days are not being taken up by baseball.

Tonight, we attend John's graduation in TaeKwonDo. He will go from white belt (first level) to orange. He attends classes twice a week, which has sometimes clashed with Kyle's games. Added to this, the girls have horseback riding lessons each week, Kyle has Cub Scouts and Jessi has a weekly worship choir practice. For the last six weeks, I have been attending a MomProps Bible study focused on parents of tweens/teens, which happens the same night as Kyle's

All that means that there has not been one week night for the past six in which we have been able to eat without having to go somewhere immediately afterwards. Our schedule is school, some rest, sometimes an afternoon commitment and then getting ready for dinner and evening engagement. The crock pot has been good to me. I have also made many of Gigi's chicken salad sandwhiches (my great-grandmothers recipe) for baseball game nights.

So, as we move into Thanksgiving preparations, I am very thankful that God has given us the means and arranged the schedules so our kids can explore sports and teamwork in outside activities and know that other adults expect them to listen and obey them. I am thankful that He has given me the stamina to get through each day. I am thankful that there are so many nights when we are still eating as a family, even if it feels a little rushed. And I am thankful when at least one sport ends and we have one night of being able to rest together as a family.

Happy Thanksgiving!