Overloaded

This was my schedule today, a Sunday:

7:30 – get up, make breakfast for self and River, finishing packing the stuff we need for our first excursion
9 a.m. – leave for gym. Exercise. Shower with River. Get us both ready and dressed for party. Drive right to party.
11 a.m. – birthday party. Eat, play, talk.
1:30 p.m. – drop River off at home. Change clothes. Put finishing touches on carrot salad.
2:30 p.m. – arrive at baby shower ½ hour late. Eat, play, talk.
4:45 p.m. – pick up books on hold at library, get home, pick up Mark, River and another batch of carrot salad. Drive right to next engagement.
5:30 p.m. – playdate with River's friend and dinner with his parents. Eat, play, talk.
7:30 p.m. – Get home, put River on potty, read him stories, put him to bed.
8 p.m. – really sit down for the first time all day.

It’s not usual, yet, to have a birthday party, a baby shower and a playdate/dinner all on the same day. And only someone as prone to overscheduling as me would throw a trip to the gym into the mix (though I’m glad I did, given how much I ate at each event). I had a fun day with lots of great people. But all through it, I was thinking to myself that this is too much. I don’t have a moment to rest, much less to attack the list of tasks I had for the weekend. Yesterday was filled with chores and work, today was filled with social engagements. There was really no down time during the weekend, and now the workweek has begun again.

This is partly a consequence of working. The only time I have to meet up with people is on the weekends. So that small period of space becomes jam packed. It’s also a consequence of my lifelong tendency to avoid a single clique. I choose friends from many different social groups, which means I end up with a lot of different appointments to see these people, since they don’t all socialize together.

River doesn’t have a single extracurricular activity or standing appointment and I’m already feeling overloaded. What is it going to be like when he joins a team or wants to consistently pursue an interest? I’ve been letting my spiritual time go, since there is usually a social obligation on Sunday mornings. The lack of that peaceful time of reflection is starting to get to me. I’ve been making working out a priority this week, but I still find meeting my exercise goals a challenge. I’ve been meaning to get River back into swim classes, but other events keep popping up on Saturday mornings.

Anyone else been there/done that? Any tips for how to avoid the path of overscheduledness before it’s really even begun? Any tips for how to prioritize social events when I want to say yes to them all?