My Trunk, My Self

It takes at least a day to plan.  Sometimes a list is made.  Then there is the packing.  Lastly the time comes to pop open the trunk of the “family bus” and load ‘er up.  No, this event is not vacation or even a long weekend away with the “fam.”

It is either “Terrific Tuesday” or “Freaky Thursday.”  These two days are the busiest of the week for our household.  And both require some mostly-routine planning.  But every so often, just to shake things up a bit, another event gets scheduled or rescheduled, and I start to think that minimizing our kids’ extracurriculars is a fool’s errand.

The clue we are crossing the line of sanity is not that the date-square on the calendar is filled with pink, blue and purple writing (one color for each child); it is in the fact that I, to save time and be efficient, end up showering the kids at our local rec center so we don’t have to go home (read: out of our way) to do it.

Oh, and the other indication that we are over-scheduled?  The trunk is packed with enough stuff to appear that our family of five is taking a three-day road trip, not just a three-hour tour with stops at the gym and school.

Last “Freaky Thursday” our trunk held:

1) My daughter’s gymnastics gear.

2) The “homework” bag, with pencils, a notebook, spelling lists, etc.  And snacks…aka “brain food.”

3) Three sets of dress clothes for the spring concert.

4) Three pairs of dress shoes, new and in their respective boxes, also for the spring concert.

5) A cooler and a plastic bag with a picnic supper.

6) Shower gear…towels, soap, etc.

7) A couple boxes of items to donate to the thrift store, which was on our way to gymnastics class.

8) My yoga mat, to remind me to invoke a little zen and breathe (!) as this craziness too shall pass.

And it did.  Then I put that yoga mat to actual use the next morning.  I needed to work my stiff muscles after loading and unloading the van.