Raising kids is like having a flat tire

Things are just a'rolling along smoothly when ... BLAM! A big noise, things go all bumpy and wobbly, you check what's wrong and realize that something got broken.

Okay, so that wasn't the analogy I was thinking of when I started to write this but it came mid-stream and I liked it too, so decided to include it.

What I was originally thinking is ....

Steve and I thought were busy when we got married. We each had careers. I had a commute. We had family and friends and activities we enjoyed. Life was fine, but busy. Or was it?

We had kids. Now we had all of the above but we added two young ones that needed wrangling. Now we knew what busy really meant. Or did we?

The boys got bigger and got involved in activities of their own. At this point, I quit my job. We still had everything we'd always done, but now we also had two boys running in different directions to different things. Now we got it. NOW we really understood the meaning of the word busy. No, we didn't.

Both boys moved up to new levels this year. Lane started high school in which a whole new world of never before available options opened up to him. Now he has a job, is in debate, drama and AC Players (the drama club). This piled on top of the activities he had before. Levi started seventh grade and this, too, is a level where new things are available. He's running cross country this fall and will be running track in the spring. These in addition to his former activities as well.

It seems every new phase of our life jacks up the intensity. A friend e-mailed wanting to know when our gang could get together for another friend's birthday. I checked my calendar and realized that I have exactly two afternoons free this entire month. What will it be like when Levi also gets to high school and gets all those new options as well? I shudder to think.

And then, one day, they'll both be gone to college and I'll be sitting here feeling like someone just came along and kicked the jack out from under the car and things came crashing to a standstill. I may need therapy.