I don't remember having to be so busy when I was 13 years old! Oh, I'm sure back then I thought I was the busiest and most important person on earth, but looking back I certainly don't remember it that way. Many people will say that our kids today are busier because there's so much more technology and that they're having more and more to do because of school, sports, and civic groups.
If technology was really the reason our kids are busier, then we should have been completely overwhelmed way-back-when! We had to actually write our term papers out by longhand. There were no computer programs to put together nice slide shows or do the graphics for us. If you were artistically challenged, you dreaded any project that required poster board and magic markers.
Most days when Youngest Son comes home from school he doesn't have any homework. I remember walking home from school with a full backpack and my arms full of books so I could complete an evening's assignments. He brings home his trumpet and maybe a worksheet that he's completed that day in class. I'd be really concerned but his grades are high and he's on the "A" Honor Roll each quarter.
Today, however, he was busy after school because it's time for the Spring Theatre Auditions at school. They did the musical "Aladdin Jr." back in November and Youngest Son portrayed The Sultan. He did a really good job. Today he auditioned for a part in "The Borrowers." The director is not pleased that the latest Disney film happens to be based on "The Borrowers" and that the kids will try to imitate it instead of actually working on their roles. Youngest Son paired-up with one of the girls that he's friends with for their read-throughs. Both of them auditioned for lead roles and I wish them the best of luck. I think he only got the nerve to ask her to audition with him because her ex-boyfriend (who's a good friend of his, too) is out-of-town and had already auditioned.
Tomorrow he's got band rehearsals after school. He's been selected to go to the State Band Conference as a soloist and as part of a sextet. He practices at home for an hour each day and is really nervous that the rest of his sextet hasn't been practicing. I told him that when he's there tomorrow to play his best and if the other five aren't as ready as he is, then to keep playing the best he can and show them that they need to step-up and get ready 'cause the contest is in April.
But even with these events and others upcoming in the month (as well as working on the Community Theatre production so that he has some backstage experience), he still has plenty of time to play video games, read lots of books, and surf the Internet (with parental supervision, of course). People say kids today are too busy. I just don't see it. Then again, I'm glad that he's got time to do things he likes as well as having time to rest properly. The typical zombie teenager is not a pleasant sight in the morning -- Eldest Son was a prime example of that and I'd like to not have to deal with it again.
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