activities overloaded: making time for nothing

I am becoming more and more convinced that people are all overscheduled and overbooked and over committed.

This is not just a cry to simplify your life or downsize or do less.

I’m not promoting laziness and lack of commitment or poor follow through.

But, as a culture, it seems as if we’re moving from one activity to the next with no time to eat (hello fast food tossed down en route) and no time to converse about any topic except where we need to be in the next ten minutes.

We need rest.

We need down time.

We need relaxation.

Sure – all of that is true.

But I think we also just need space.

Space.

Literally and figuratively.

I think we need to have literal space around us – room to walk uninterrupted.

Space to sit still and look at the sky.

It’s as if we need permission for this somehow.

Our kids are in desperate need of space.

Room.

You’d think homeschoolers might embrace this idea and I’ve known some families who really do.

But homeschooling can also be a fast track to do more than ever.  To fit in more.  To squeeze in one more activity, one more play date, one more lesson, one more educational program.

Plans are exciting.

I love field trips.

But if your days are filled with leaping from one class to one project from one assignment to one evening gathering, your kids are just being pulled along for the ride.

The bumpy, non-satisfying ride.

Families need more than one day with a blank slate.

I think we get excited when we see that Saturday afternoon has two free hours in it.

And then we think, “What can I do during those hours?”

And we’ll come up with a zillion really worthwhile ideas.

Really worthwhile, I’m telling you.

Our kids are often crying out for this space – even though you might hear them saying things like “I’m bored.  What should we do?”

What they actually need is time to sit still, staring at one another, until one sibling says, “Want to play Go Fish?”

“Should we build forts in the woods?”

“Want to see how many blocks it would take to spread them all the way upstairs?”

“Ever wonder if we could design the perfect airplane?”

“Want to draw what our dream car would look like?”

“We should dress up the dog and teach her to dance.”

Creativity requires blank space.

You won’t discover imagination in between the car rides from piano practice to gymnastics.

You’ll discover exhaustion and french fries that never biodegrade and back seat turf battles.

Everything that matters to us, we make time to do.

Birthday parties and business meetings and marathon Walking Dead weekends.

Dates and coffee breaks with friends and karate lessons and exercise classes.

I think we need to make time to do nothing.