Wednesday, February 21, 2007

A Step in the Right Direction

No early morning workout workout yesterday. I slept in because I needed to. No lunch workout yesterday; I had lunch with J.T. because I wanted to. So the plan was to swim last night. Briar had swim team practice at 6:00, so I figured I'd swim while he did. But at about 5:45 he informed me that he had a Social Studies test the next day. That in itself is progress, as I have thrown the gauntlet down on him for forgetting to inform me of, and thus forgetting to study for, his upcoming tests. So we got out his review sheet, and I see:

Legislative: blah, blah, blah...more blah, blah, blah...stuff about the House of Representatives and stuff about the Senate....blah, blah, blah...not my cup of tea...

Executive: blah, blah, blah....mostly common sense

Judicial: blah, blah, blah....more common sense.

He says he knows this stuff, so I quiz him a little. He knows about 80% of it. So here I stand at this familiar crossroad I've been at far too often. Turn left and go down the road of:

"Ok, Briar...hurry...go get your swimsuit on, grab your bag and lets go. We'll finish up this studying when we get home..after we eat, and after we shower." We'll go on to the pool, we'll try to study later that night, and he'll be up later than he should be. Then he'll be tired tomorrow. And rushed.
Or, we can take the right turn and go for:

"Ok, we're just going to have to miss our swim. Both of us. You don't know this stuff yet, and it's going to take a little time to learn it. If you wanted to go to swim practice, you should have already informed your dad or myself of this test and already studied." And we take our time, eat dinner, study as long as needed, and get in the bed early. He's rested tomorrow. He feels good.
I am done with those left turns. Bottom line -they cause too much chaos. So I changed out of my swim clothes, we ate dinner, and studied until he knew 100% of that test. We put Pirates of Caribbean Dead Man's Chest in the dvd player, popped popcorn and got out the V-day candy, and chilled until bedtime. And I think it was appreciated by everyone.

I am not Super Woman. I am not Super Mom. I am not a Super Triathlete, nor a Super Marathoner. And I don't have to be. But I do have to make the decisions that are best for my family. I'm not doing the Gulf Coast Triathlon. I may not do a half ironman at all this year, although I wanted to.

I called a meeting with Competitive Lana. We talked. We bargained. We compromised. I explained to her that she has many years ahead of her, and she doesn't have to do everything right now. There is time in the future for everything she wants to do. There will be a time when Briar doesn't need me to stay home and help him study for a test. There will come a time when Bo doesn't want me to sit down and watch him beat Super Mario Brothers or help him count to 100. Granted, Competitive Lana deserves time too. And I'm going to give it to her. I may even ask Briar, Bo, and J.T. to give her a little more than she deserves in the coming year or two so that she can do a few long distance events to keep her happy. But right now, she's agreed to take a back seat.

We have balance. Balance is good. ~Very. Deep. Breath~

12 comments:

DV said...

life is long, but the *moment* is fleeting... *live* the moment and the rest will fall into place...

Joe said...

Good for you, Lana. You made the right call.

Cliff said...

Lana,

Good decision. It is circumstances like this that define who we are. I am sure your son will thank you for being with him (even though at this time he might not realize it).

Beside right now is still winter.

Brooke said...

Only you know what's best for your family, but it sounds like you made the right decision.

E-Speed said...

tough decisions but good ones. The half will be there waiting for you when you have the time to tackle it.

Trisaratops said...

Can Competitive Lana come hold Competitive Sara's hand (or more likely smack her) starting in October?

Seriously...you rock. I have a lot to learn from you.

Lance Notstrong said...

Good decision. You're kids won't be that age forever. Do everything you can with them but squeeze in some time for "competitive" Lana.....or at least "do some events and have fun" Lana :-)

Triteacher said...

Wow, and from a teacher - thanks.

Phil said...

Balance is good and those are tough decisions ... you made a great choice.

Your hyper-competatvie side will still serve you well when you need to get focused on your training ... however, your kids need to know that that you think that there education is more important than squeezing in one more swim. I think you're a great mom.

RunBubbaRun said...

"balance" is tough sometimes. But we know we have to put somethings first. A race is just a race, family is always forever until they become teenagers and drive us crazy.

Janet Edwards said...

Finding that balance really is important. Glad to hear you are making it work for you! The half will always be there for you!

Michele said...

Well, I am disappointed (for me) that you aren't doing Gulf Coast, but I am glad you are felling better and making things work.
Rmember this year is all about having FUN!!!!