Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

When I bump shoulders with friends who still have children at home, I am often struck with how busy their lives are. And how scheduled their children’s lives are. There’s school, of course; but then there’s piano lessons on Monday, gymnastics on Tuesday, soccer on Wednesday and Friday with games on the weekend, and ballet on Thursday. I sometimes wonder if children have any time left just to be children, to be idle and use their imaginations in unstructured play.

I have no children at home; I work only part-time and am at the age where one is supposedly winding down. Yet, my life is as scheduled as a preschooler’s. There’s working out three times a week (cardio, weight training, and swimming), weekly piano lessons and daily practice, writing my blog, reading, spending time with Earl, paying our bills and other house-y tasks, and my part-time job. Sometimes I think I don’t leave the treadmill at the gym.

I remember when I worked full time and had children at home. I thought I was busy then, and I was. But I’m just as busy now. The only difference is that many of the things on my weekly regimen are of my own choosing rather than obligations like school conferences, meals for a growing family, or sleepover parties for teenaged step-daughters.

And, because I’ve created this schedule, I can un-create it by giving up some of the activities. The thing is: I don’t want to, because every single thing I’m involved in is important to me. Some are things I put off when I was raising a family and working like crazy. Others are new interests I want to pursue. All are intensely interesting.

I have always secretly criticized parents who overscheduled their children, but now I’m wondering if the children have the same attitude I do. They want to do it all, and their parents are eager to comply. If that’s the case, then I admire the families involved. If, however, the children are signed up for various activities to please parents, then I hope the children rebel long before their teenage years.

As for me, I’m not going to judge anymore.