It’s ok for kids to be bored.

I fear for a society that thrives on medication and activity.

I don’t feel that I have to fill every second of our days. I love that we have downtime.

I think creativity is born out of boredom.

I prefer a simple life.

We like to be home during the week. We homeschool.

I realize many do homeschool differently, with frequent field trips, co-op, classes, etc. And that may work for them. But it just doesn’t work for me.

We just signed the girls up for weekly music lessons. Liz is gonna be in a play and she meets weekly with Civil Air Patrol. We went to a birthday party and homeschool free gym time a couple weeks ago.

I am stressed running around that much.

But I know it’s good for them. This INTJ mama knows her social babies need some activity and human interaction.

See below, I took my kids to a homeschool art show and they had a blast. I enjoyed the punch and observing. I’m a good mama!

I still strive to have a homecooked meal on the table every night. I prefer that we all eat together, and we succeed at that, except Mondays because of Civil Air Patrol and during play rehearsals. Liz eats after afterwards.

On these dreary afternoons and weekends? The kids do get whiny and bored. Um, play with toys. No, we’re not sitting glued to screens.

I don’t feel the need to create jam-packed periods of activity. We prefer downtime.

Boredom is actually a good thing.

My kids get creative when they’re bored.

I’m not their cruise director.

They need to learn to play. I refuse to feel guilty because I make sure they get plenty of mama time so they aren’t resentful of the times I tell them to go find something to do.

When we take vacations, we make sure there is plenty of time to explore.

We don’t do amusement parks.

You’ll never see us at Disney.

We love nature, history, art, God’s and man’s creation and beauty to envelop us and teach us.

I worry about comments from parents who ask for travel tips that are “not cultural or historical -as my kids will get bored VERY QUICKLY.”

That is all we want to do!

We’re in Europe for such a short time and we have our daily lives, but we want to soak up all that culture and history as much as possible. These people make me sad.

I won’t give up.

This year has certainly been one our most difficult. There were several times I said the words: “Maybe we should enroll them in school.” The kids tried my patience and our teen pushed all the buttons to drive us nuts. I questioned everything and reevaluated our goals and reasons.

It gets tedious adulting and parenting all the time. I have to protect myself so I don’t get burnt out.

I set limits on my time.

I used to have trouble saying no. I’ve grown out of that obligation anxiety and it feels so good.

I am not obligated to take a position of leadership (but I can’t complain if it’s not done my way either).

I am not obligated to follow every page or person online who follows me (sorry). I don’t have to subscribe to RSS or newsletters if I don’t have time or interest to read them. Choices, people.

I am not obligated to sign up my kids for every activity that is available. I am not competing with anyone and I don’t have to compare. My family understands our limitations on time, budget, and my lack of desire for being a taxi service.

I like having free time and not being scheduled every minute of every day. I like a simpler pace.

Linking up: Living in this Season, Golden Reflections, My JoyFilled Life, Natural Beach Living, A Life in Balance, B Inspired Mama, Simple Life of a Fire Wife, Happy and Blessed Home, Los Gringos Locos, Crystal and Co, Hip Homeschool Moms, The Jenny Evolution, PeaklePie, Arabah Joy