Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

It is a rainy, blustery day here, which has me sitting inside planning. And thinking. Way to much. My current rumination of choice is how to avoid doing too much.

It is a conscious effort for me this year, avoiding over-scheduling. It isn't easy. Every option out there sounds wonderful! In this week already, I have had to turn down the opportunity to go to two different Halloween activities. Then there are the activities that come through our local homeschooling groups. There are so many! You could literally never be at home. I know, there are weeks when we aren't! Add to all the homeschool activities all the after school and evening activities for school-age kids. I view evenings as family time, so I limit those activities.

So I am being vigilant. But I feel guilty, too. What if I am skipping activities that my kids would find enriching? Are we attending enough activities so that they are making enough social connections? Should I just go to every activity I think my kids might possibly enjoy? What about the other stuff, ya know, like reading and math?

I don't remember there being this many options when I was young! Maybe my parents just did a better job of picking for us. I don't feel like I missed out, either. I didn't attend more than one or two theater productions in my elementary years (and I couldn't tell you what they were! Very memorable, no?) We probably went on two field trips a year. As a family we went to the zoo once or twice a year, maybe. We hit a few other sites, maybe one site a year. I know I have been to Fort Snelling more times in the last year and a half than I had been there in my entire life prior to that. And I did not feel deprived as a child.

Yet...

How do you choose? How do you avoid over-committing, especially when everyone around you seems to be doing so much more?