On my desk, at the base of my desktop monitor, is a lettered olive shell that The Peanut and I gathered a long, long time ago during our last vacation at Hilton Head.
Today, I am missing the beach.
Although, to be fair, it isn't just the beach, but really the carefree days of summer when we weren't running around like crazy people, flitting from one activity to the next and then trying to get ready for bed only to get up early and start all over again. Day in, day out, over and over and over.
Is it just me, or are other families feeling way too overextended these days?
We try very hard not to overschedule The Peanut. She is in far fewer activities and sports and such than a number of her peers, and yet we are still running around like crazy people.
How do folks with more than one child survive the constant scheduling madness? I honestly don't have an answer, but I do wonder if we are all trying to do too much these days.
Somewhere, there has to be a way to balance things. Doesn't there?
The magic, in all of the memories from this past summer and all the moments I tend to hold onto before that, is gleaned in the pauses, those moments where we take a breath together and savor the moment. And not in the constant chaos of the race.
There is a lesson to be learned there, I think. If only I could pause long enough to think about it amid the din of the day.
(All photos by Christy Hardin Smith, taken last summer at the aquarium in Charleston, SC.)
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