GUEST BLOG: The Juggling Act

Today's Guest Blog is from Maggie, whose kids are 10 and 7. She has entered a whole new phase in the working mom's life: Finding time to drive her kids from school to event to activity and back again.

I am a working mom, too, except my kids are 10 and 7. In some ways, although I remember what it was like to deal with diapers, potty training, feeding, daycare, etc..., some of it has passed me by. One of the benefits of reading your blog is that I am remembering some of the smaller details and funny stories from years past.

An issue I am having as a working mom is scheduling the kids - their activities. It is miserable to let them do anything, as it makes an already long day even longer! I don't think that I overschedule them; each child is in 1 sport/season, and my 7 year old has CCD. Fortunately, Catholic school takes care of CCD for my daughter...

Juggling 2 children and their activity schedules is miserable. I am a teacher, and even though my day ends officially at 3:15 PM, I don't get home to stay until 6 PM or later at least 3 nights a week. I feel selfish, but I want to cook a meal and have it with my family before 7 pm. I want the kids to go to bed at a decent time (7:45), because they have to get up at 6:30, so that 2 of us can go directly to school and my son can go to his before school program.

And this doesn't even cover the Saturday soccer games or the Sunday girl scout meetings I refuse to let my daughter attend because Sunday is family/dinner at my parents' day.

And I am the mean mom - they don't take a myriad of classes or participate in more than 1 activity at a time.

UGH.

Are you sure this is the kind of stuff you were looking for? It seems to me that you are inviting a lot of whining. Sorry about that. I figure both moms of younger and older children can relate - after all, dance classes, music lessons, sports, swimming lessons, religious classes, and social groups all take place at the only times available - evenings and weekends.