I know, it's just so busy.

The warm summer winds are now making way for the cooler breeze. Days are getting shorter and the retail stores are stocking up on winter wear and high boots. They all remind us of the summer ending and making way for fall.  Two things happen when summer ends, first schools reopen and second our brain shifts gears and moves from first to fourth.  It's interesting how a simple change in seasons allows us to relax or not relax.

Parents often look forward to routine and schedule that "back to school" brings.  With routine and back to school also comes the race to do more, and I am not talking about homework. I am talking about all that extra activities we need to do. Why? Well, that's a good question and I am still looking for an answer. 

I see kinder students going for tuitions, and why not, after all it takes a lot of patience, time and perseverance to teach the little ones. Their attention span is little. They don't like being taught in a serious tone. All teaching at that age has to be fun, and who has time for fun in this modern 21st century. 

We as parents (including myself) don't have time. There I said it, and I apologize if I hurt anyone. Ever wonder, why is it so? Our parents also were doing exactly what we did. Our moms cooked, cleaned, washed dishes, ironed clothes, mopped the floors and yet they had time to sit with us in the evening and review our homework or just chat. Our dad's also worked hard and earned a good living in addition to just kicking the ball in the front yard. What happened? Where did all that time go? The clock still gives us the same 24 hours a day, but these 24 hours just don't seem enough anymore.  

Why? I wonder. 

Prioritize, Simplify life. 

Well there are a couple of things happening at the same time here. First, we have way too many options to explore. We want our kids to try out the piano, learn computers, be a whiz at math, a skilled writer and learn self defense too. All my parents wanted me to do was go out and jump rope. How boring, right ;) 

If these choices were not enough, we then have the need to stay connected to the world every time. Our communications have been reduced to LOL and JK. Our emotions are slaves to the little emoji faces. We don't write letters anymore, and to those who do, we say "Oh! you have way too much time."  

And most importantly, as humans we have this pressing need to out do the other? It doesn't matter what choices we make, we are all busy with our chosen roles. Then why do we add more to it?  It's a catch 22 situation. Our obsession of being busy is so strong that those who are not, often feel guilty.

We have time to Tweet, but not write. We have time to Facebook, but not call. We have time to Pinterest, but not invite. Are we really a generation that is busy or are we a generation that is simply buzy?

Today, it is cool to be busy and often comes with bragging rights. This is moving on to the kids too. The kids often judge themselves based on what their class mates are doing.  We as a society are creating a circular maze for ourselves. A maze in which we keep running in an effort to play catch up. The end result is complete exhaustion. Kids are exhausted with the constant need to excel and the grown ups are tired of being busy.  We need to stop glorifying
being busy.

Time is money and scarce too, I agree.  It is however about time that we prioritized our hours, minutes and seconds.