Feeling the pressure

As Katie is getting older I am starting to feel the pressure of questioning whether I am doing everything right and giving her the best opportunities. In two more years she will be in middle school. I look at her now and she is still so young and innocent but I know that big changes are looming in the near future. I worry about her social skills, will she be able to fit and make friends in a bigger environment like junior high? Should we put her in Cotillion next year? (I just got a brochure for it in the mail) Do people still do that? http://www.cotillion.com/children.shtml
Will she be able to get on a sports team if she tries out? I remember when I was in middle school I went to the volleyball team try-outs (having had no experience but just thinking it would be fun to learn). As it turned out, all the other girls there trying out were already really good and I felt like a complete idiot. I ended up not even going back for the second day of try-outs because I was so embarrassed. It's experiences like those that I want to protect her from. If she decides to try out for a team then I want her to walk in to those try-outs with confidence and experience behind her. In order for that to happen, it's my responsibility to put her into those sports early - like now.
I played league soccer all through elem. & middle school so when I got to high school I was easily able to get on the team and really enjoyed it. Being on a team was probably the best part of high school for me and I want Katie to have that opportunity. It's hard because I want her to learn so many things but I don't want to over-schedule her. Gymnastics, piano, soccer, volleyball, ballet, horseback riding, cheerleading, swimming, drama - these are all things she wants to do - how do we fit it all in? Then there are sports she has never even tried like golf, tennis, basketball, etc. Maybe she would like one of those sports but how will she know if she never gets to try it?! Do we just pick one thing and focus on it so she has a chance to get really good at it? How do we pick one thing unless she's tried them all? Aghh!
It seems that things have become so much more competitive so much earlier these days. I remember when we had her do a summer of YMCA softball just for fun a few years ago. We were walking past the fields and there were some teams of 8-9 year old boys playing. OMG. They were amazing! They obviously had been playing for years. They actually have a "World Series" for little kids! Now fast forward 4-5 years and these boys are all in high school trying out for the baseball team and some other boy, whose parents didn't put him in baseball as a kid, goes to try out also. Poor kid doesn't have a chance. So maybe he's so depressed about it that he starts wearing all black, sporting eye liner and hanging with the wrong crowd. LOL, ok maybe that's a little over dramatic but there are SO many pressures in middle & high school and I've seen a lot of good kids take a bad path. I really think being a part of something, like a sports team, really helps kids stay focused and gives them an automatic group of friends & social network. It's sad to worry about these things but it's the reality of the society we live in. The schools are not there to teach your kids sports, they are all about competition and winning and your kid needs to be good before he even walks in the door if s/he is even going to have a chance. Maybe I worry to much but I just want to make sure my kids have a chance. It's true that the challenges of being a parent never really get easier, they just become more complicated.

So in the spirit of trying to let my kids pursue what they enjoy and also trying new things, here is our crazy schedule for this semester:

Mon:
Katie - School 8:30-3:30, Gymnastics 4-6

Tues:
Katie - School 8:30-3:30, Ballet 4-5
Kobe - Music Train (a toddler music class) 11-12

Wed:
Katie - School 8:30-3:30, Gymnastics 4-6

Thurs.:
Katie - School 8:30-3:30, Piano 4-5
Kobe - Gym & Swim (30 min. gymnastics, 40 min swimming class) 9-10:10

Fri.:
Katie - School 8:30-3:30 - HER ONLY FREE DAY! She wants to do horse riding lessons on this day though.

We didn't fit soccer into the schedule this semester so thankfully we have our Sat. mornings free. The reason she has so much gymnastics is because I really feel that it is the best foundation for all sports, it teaches total body strength, coordination, balance & flexibility - skills that are important in every sport. If you can be a good gymnast, you can be good at anything.
So it's pretty crazy right now but I can't even imagine what it's going to be like in a couple years once Kobe and Kaleb are doing sports and more activities! Kobe is SO excited about his classes, it is so cute. I'll have to take some pics of him next week.

One thing I'm really excited about it is that the place where Katie does gymnastics also has a big rec center so I bought a pass so I can go work out while she is in class. It would be kind of hypocritical of me to tell her how important it is to exercise and play sports then just sit on my butt all day. Hopefully I can get rid of the last of this baby weight in the next few months. They also have tennis lessons for adults that I'm thinking of taking. I need to my butt in gear, I used to run 5 miles a day and now I get winded just jogging around the block. Sure we are at nearly 9000ft. elevation but still, I know I could be in a LOT better shape if I spent more time being active and I know I'd feel a lot better too. So no more excuses, I'm going to make it happen!