Kindermusik camp: what's the big deal?

When I was a senior in high school, I spent two weeks babysitting two kids, all day long. I thought it would be easy money. I thought we would watch movies, play a little bit, go swimming, take naps. More movies, maybe those kids would want to read books or play quietly inside while I read magazines and talked to my boyfriend on the phone.

What really happened was those kids dragged me around their neighborhood on rollerblades, on bikes, running, no breaks, no movies, no naps. They were go hard or go home. I was so tired that I would fight falling asleep while driving home each day. Once I had to pull over, and actually bumped the curb.

That was one of those moments, you know, when you realize how wrong you are in your assumptions about something. Babysitting totally kicked my butt.

I guess that was really just my first taste of what motherhood would be like. I don't often feel like a "new mom" (which I think means clueless in a cute way) but this week, I do. And it's all because of Kindermusik Camp.

Let me explain.

Kindermusik is a music class for children, they listen to music, play, interact with other kids, etc. This class is everyday for one week. It's only one hour a day. I was so excited about this class because it is Charlie's first organized activity. And it's fun. He loves it. He smiles the whole time.

The thing is that for that one hour, you are also playing with your child and doing all of those things, moving them with the music, holding them, swaying them, squatting with them in your arms, chasing them around the room. Like, I had to squat with Charlie in my arms for the length of one song so that he felt like he was going up and down. It's a workout. It's a good workout.

So, ok. that's ok. Harder than I thought, but I can handle it. The thing is Kindermusik class must be followed by an hour of entertainment so I can stretch Charlie until his ONE nap at 11, because if he is anything like his mom, he would pass out if we went to our nice comfy home right away, which would put us back on a two nap schedule. THAT may seem crazy, but it's a thing.

Ok, so I can do that. One day we went to Chic-Fil-A and played on the indoor playground. The next day we went to an event at the library where there were lots of different kinds of trunks to touch and look at.

But Wednesday, Wednesday was the hardest day of all. WHY? Because on Wednesday, we also go to gymnastics. Supervising and helping a one year old through an hour of gymnastics is very challenging. I would compare it to a moderate interval training workout. Really. REALLY.

Am I a wuss? AM I? Wouldn't you think that those two classes would be no big deal? I've done triathlons! I've run a half marathon! I know tae kwon do! And here motherhood is, kicking my butt.

Note: I just read my last post, in which I am super excited about the upcoming Kindermusik camp. ha! It IS fun, I would do it again - just to clarify.