Thanksvember Days 4 and 5

I'm sorry to say that you might see more of these smushed together posts, since I'm not great at carving out time to write at home. Maybe it's a blessing, since I'm guessing most of you don't want to see a blog post EVERY SINGLE DAY from me!

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Scarlett is involved in Girl Scouts, twirling, ballet and tap dance, soccer and sometimes swimming lessons. At this point, she is equally interested in and good at all of these activities. I know that the day will come that she'll have to choose between some of these activities, although I'm guessing that we will have to choose for her.

Now, such a large amount of activities takes very careful and specific planning. As you can imagine, it sometimes gets away from us. I think it would be very easy for me to take it to the next level... stage parenting. I really think those parents start off with good intentions. Everyone wants the best for their children and for their children to try their very best at everything they do. It's just so easy to lose sight of the important things or for priorities to shift. My priority? Scarlett needs to have fun. The second that things get too heavy and she stops having fun, we're done.

At a twirling competition we attended on Saturday, we were surrounded by stage parents. As Scarlett's group performed their dance to the Mario theme song, I could hear some of the parents behind me start to pick apart their dance. I don't think I heard one positive thing come from their mouths. And these were their children out there! Granted, their dance was a little rough. However, it was clear that the children were having a blast and that the crowd was thrilled to be whisked back in time with Mario and Luigi! How could you focus on the negatives of that?! A stage mom I am not. I'm thankful for that.

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Yesterday we spent the afternoon at a Girl Scouts event. The girls and their families got to go on a hayrack ride around Pioneers Park. We then convened around a campfire making smores and drinking cocoa. It hit me then how lucky I have become, through my children. Not only have doors been opened to countless opportunities and events through all of the different activities that Scarlett has been involved in, but I've also made some great mom friends and acquaintances through her friends. I hope the same happens with Sullivan.