They Said Having Kids Would Be Fun

“Have kids,” they said. “It’ll be fun,” they said.

But what they don’t tell you is that you will spend 42 percent of your waking hours driving them around, dropping them off and picking them up. You think I’m exaggerating? Maybe I am. But maybe I’m not.

I have four children, ranging in ages from 5 to 13. You’d be surprised how many different activities those kids need to be shuttled to.

There are piano lessons, play rehearsal, orchestra practice, soccer practice, cross country team practice, Junior Jazz basketball, dance practice, young women church activities, young men church activities, Primary program practice, graveyard shift at the coal mine, playdates with friends, and, of course, school.

And that’s just taking them places. They also need to be picked up and brought home from all those places as well.

But wait, there’s more! Remember all those practices and rehearsals I just mentioned? Well, they’re practicing and rehearsing for a reason. So, there’s piano recitals, play performances, orchestra concerts, soccer games, cross country meets, Junior Jazz basketball games, dance recitals, the Primary program, and swing shift at the coal mine.

And, for added fun, they need to be there early for many of these performances, which means you either need to drop them off, then go back and get the rest of the family and bring them to watch the performance, or you need to bring the entire family early, then sit around for thirty minutes to an hour before the performance begins. And the younger children are always so well-behaved when they are sitting around waiting in a public place (yes, that last sentence was sarcasm.)

The other day I got home from a long day at work. I was ready to sit and relax. But instead, I spent the next three hours driving here, there, and everywhere. Sure, some of that time was spent just sitting and waiting in the minivan, but it’s not very relaxing when you are battling the other parents for the too few parking spots available.

Of course, with all these drop-offs and pick-ups, the shuttling schedule can get complicated.

I try to keep track of it all on my calendar app on my phone, but that doesn’t work very well when the kids don’t know which days they have practices and rehearsals.

“Do you have practice today?” I’ll ask. “Maybe,” they’ll answer. Driving my kids around is driving me crazy! But, in two or three years my oldest child will be old enough to drive herself, so that will solve all my troubles without adding any new problems, right?

Right? (Capell is a Serve Daily contributor.)