The End of Simplicity

No one tells you that as your kids get bigger, life doesn’t get more simple. It gets much more complicated. Each year, my kids get more active and delve into more activities and adventures. I celebrate and support the piano, guitar, robotics, dance, softball, soccer, swimming, track and whatever else tends to come up in the year. But each year, it seems to get a little more complicated.

Fast forward to the end of this school year. The same day Jordan performed in her yearly dance recital, her brother, Cameron, graduated from elementary school. Two big events on one day. This was the last time the kids will attend the same school at the same time. Middle school is three years, high school is four years. With the kids four years apart, I only enjoyed two years where they attended elementary school together. It was so simple.

Take a look at the recital rehearsal. Jordan actually had zero messups in the actual show… I guess that’s why we rehearse. Unfortunately, you have to pay a pretty hefty sum to get video that shows a wide shot of the official performance. So, check out the dance and pretend it was flawless.

Along with the cute that came from the recital. I can’t get over the warm and fuzzy feelings watching Cameron graduate from elementary school. Next school year, Cam goes to the bigger kid school an hour earlier than Jordan. Next school year, Jordan moves up to the bigger kid dance classes. She’ll have to “specialize.” Who knows what that might mean for her. Ballet? Jazz? Tap? Heck, she’s even mentioned musical theater. I do know it will be another new item to juggle. Another new when school starts up? Jordan will take piano along with Cameron. He started in second grade and I told Jordan she could start then as well.

See? It feels like we’re leaving a simple time and moving to even more juggling. At some point, we’ll have to pick and choose and drop some activities.

So I look forward to enjoying a summer where we have big travel, a new helper arm in Chicago and new experiences for Cameron. (He’s going to attend his first sleep-away camp on his own. And it’s all about aerospace!) We’re keeping it simple in advance of Camp No Limits Missouri (June 11-14). For now, the kids are taking swimming lessons, playing at the pool and having fun adventures with babysitters while I’m out of town.