By: Paul Morrone
I’m not sure what is more difficult – running a business or running a household. I’ve joked with Jill several times that the systems and technology we use here in the office helps keep us focused and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks. At home, however, it’s like operating in the stone age as our lives are documented on handwritten calendars and day-to-day operations are managed via a series of text messages and calls. Needless to say, life was a lot simpler when Jill and I were only accountable for ourselves. Throw in a couple of kids, sports, before/after school activities and the schedules of grandparents and you can quickly see how it’s a miracle that we’ve managed to keep it together (so far). Kudos to Jill for taking the helm as our household COO for keeping things running smoothly and ensuring that someone is always there to get our kids off the bus.
But it has been a fun spring. Kyle has taken on coach-pitch baseball in addition to lacrosse and Ryan got his first experience in (somewhat) organized sports with a pre-k soccer camp. Having a September birthday, Kyle will continue to learn what it is like to be one of the youngest kids on the field, but he has learned to hold his own with the first graders and will give most of them a run for their money in an all-out sprint. Ryan is one of the happiest kids on the soccer field and we’re seeing that he has a better ability to focus than Kyle did at the same age. I give the soccer coaches a lot of credit as it certainly isn’t easy to keep the focus of about 25 three- and four-year-olds for more than a couple of seconds. Ryan loves it, which is all that matters.
One would think that the end of the school year would make life a bit easier, but I’m finding the opposite to be true. This is our first summer that involves both children in summer camps, the coordination of which is an exercise in logistics that rivals the needs inside an Amazon warehouse. For some reason, there doesn’t appear to be an ‘easy’ solution, a concept I struggle to wrap my head around. Covering all the summer weeks is a challenge, as is managing the camps for children of different ages, with different start times and locations. As I’ve learned with most things parenting related, we’ll figure it out as we go along.
In a twisted sort of way, we all enjoy it. The chaos is easy to complain about and fun to be in the midst of. What makes it better is that most of our friends are living it right alongside us. Misery loves company, as they say! As the summer weather rolls in, its easy to run into familiar faces at the baseball field and catch up with friends that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Most importantly, the kids love it and we’re all making memories that we will cherish forever.
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