Doing Less

Did you know you can do less? 

It's a secret you won't find on social media or in organized moms groups, but it's true.

Did you know that when your children have to be at outdoor soccer practice for two hours, and it's cloudy and windy, you can let them go practice in the chilly evening air while you stay in the car and read a book? 

You don't have to pace on the sidelines for two hours to keep warm while your sweet child runs ladders or practices defense, oblivious to your existence, under the tutelage of a volunteer soccer coach. 

You can sit in a comfortable seat in the warm air of your car and immerse yourself in a good story.

Nobody will even try to stop you. 

How to survive soccer practice: don't

And when it's time for the Easter Bunny to make its appearance, did you know you can do less there too?

You don't have to buy a toddler pool and fill it with books and Legos, pool toys and two-pound chocolate bunnies. You don't have to stuff 100 bright plastic eggs with jelly beans and Jolly Ranchers and spread them out over your lawn or find ever-more-sneaky places to hide them in your house. And you definitely don't have to sprinkle flour over a stencil of a bunny foot to make magic footprints that you'll surely be the one to clean up later.

You don't.

You can grab a few small items from the Dollar Spot at Target or the crafts store, stick them in a basket that's not filled with immortal Easter grass which you'd still find on the floor months later, and call it a day. 

The kids will still be excited and happy to get surprises. I've recently discovered that this actually works.  

How to Easter: just a little

And when it comes time to celebrate your darling little one's birthday, did you know you don't have to bake, frost, sprinkle, and separately package 30 cupcakes that you'll also have to help deliver to the school for each classmate? 

Nope.  

Nobody will even criticize you for not supplying their child with yet more sugar or party favors like sticky hands, popping fidgets, and slap bracelets that are played with for five minutes then discarded on table tops, kitchen counters, floors, and pockets to dig through.

It's true. 

Here's to doing less, because doing more for every little thing is killing me.