It’s just a fact I need to deal with: my kids just ain’t the sit-still type. 
This realization becomes solidified anytime we choose to do any type of group activity requiring my children to follow along with a group. Most of the time, it’s just not happenin’.
Take for example, last night. My littlest kid (pictured here, with the side I get to see of her most often) had class at Core Kids Academy, a weekly gymnastics lesson she eagerly awaits each Tuesday. We all gathered around the mat awaiting instructions from the beloved Coach Cora, and no sooner had we warmed up than my little 2-year-old firecracker hops up off the mat, racing for the trampoline like a soda-induced psycho with a pot of jumping-beans in her drawers.
All the other little girls waited patiently in line while my little princess yells “Pick Me! Pick Me!” or “I want to go FIRST!” jumping ahead of the line. It doesn’t help that she is a full head taller than the other children close to her age. She is a petite dominator of whatever world she steps into, stopping only to say PLEASE may she go first and THANK YOU for letting her lead the pack. Sadly, I’m afraid, she’s a chip off the ol’ block.
It’s not just the little one, either. I’m afraid her two older brothers began this trend by jumping into most social situations with their hands on their hips, ready-to-roll with no fear for the unknown and an energy level envious of long-distance runners. My oldest Richmond kid won the award in kindergarten for the most notes sent home daily for talking in class, making noises and overall being a menace. My middle child requires the least sleep of any human being with his level of energy I believe I have ever witnessed, popping up at 6am daily regardless of bedtime, ready to take on the world.
Could it be that they see their mom, someone who has a problem with idle time, bouncing from activity to activity, always talking to friends? Is it because of me that they not understand the meaning of downtime, for the love of Pete?
Well, I just can’t change me. I’m already too old for that. And, I’ve been told, mostly by sympathetic friends, that active children of today often become tomorrow’s leaders. So when I fall on the couch, pooped-out and exhausted at 4pm, wondering what to make for dinner and how I’m going to answer my emails and have time to watch Modern Family and they run to me and say, “What’s next mama? What are we doin’ now?” I’ll try to keep that in mind.
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