May have bitten off more than I can chew...

...those of you with school-aged children will know where I'm coming from on this topic. Most of us get really excited when our little ones are old enough to head off to preschool. First come the school supply lists, the scholastic book orders and depending on where they go, sometimes you'll get a snack list sign up sheet or maybe even a fundraiser. This is all very exciting...until it happens year after year after year after...well, you get the point. Our first double dose was last year when Jonathan started kindergarten. Both he and Ashley were at the same school, so we got twice the paperwork in their weekly folders, twice the book order forms, fundraiser forms, remembering to deposit money into their lunch accounts, paying an extra fee online if I didn't remember to send that check in on time for the lunches. This year, it was deciding to pay for a brand new flute for Ashley, paying for yearbooks, school t-shirts, mandatory PE t-shirts, band fundraisers, PTA fees, remembering to help with homework, fees for their CCD classes, snack sign ups for that, and lastly any and all things related to whatever sport we sign them up for. Jonathan's swim lessons are the least demanding beyond price. You pay for the session, get 11 lessons, you use them up and you pay all over again for another session. Ashley's volleyball, while a little more involved, *is* closer to home and costs less than swim lessons so it does have it's advantages. This being her fifth season, I decided to go ahead and coach. She hasn't really made a big deal about wanting me to, but I thought about how much I like teaching (or instructing in this case) and I also thought it would be a great way to get to know some more of her friends and parents too.

Ashley's third season volleyball professional photo

The problem: Drew is at this "super-clingy can't be satiated" phase from about 5-7:30 p.m. when I may have practice with the team. This is the *only* reason I am hesitant about coaching. I think the overall experience is going to be great. I've seen how the parents come to practice, stay and help the coach out, offer to get the shirts printed with the girls' names. It's just a really good sense of comraderie. This is also the season that if the girls are really good they can try out for their middle school teams, so I feel like I'm getting in at a formidable time as far as coaching goes. She will be considered part of the 7th grade team in the spring because they bump them up to what grade they'll be in fall. Ashley's even helped me write up a practice schedule with warmups, stretches and exercises. I've been asking her input on what kinds of exercises they should do, what season did she like best and with what coach. What did she like best about the practices and she's excited enough that she wants to be my assistant coach. Ok, so maybe a mini assistant coach considering she'll be on the team, but I'm definitely not opposed to taking help...even from my 11 year old, lol. I think it'll be a lot of fun and give me a chance to see Ashley in a different role from our usual mother-daughter one.

I have to admit, I'm having a lot of fun being a parent these days. I look forward to Jonathan's swim lessons, I can't wait for Ashley's volleyball season...who knows what Paige will get involved in...only time will tell.