Maycember Mayhem + Maycember Emotions

The last couple years a new term has been coined by parenting influencers and internet circles: Maycember. Basically May is as busy as December without the payoff of the holidays at the end. I’ve always deemed Memorial Day the #GatewayToSummer, so this doesn’t completely hold true for me, but the overall sentiment is certainly applicable when you look at our demanding (insane) May calendar by the numbers:

• 29 dance classes
  
• Seven each of soccer and baseball games/practices, while juggling seemingly frequent rainouts and reschedules during this exceptionally cool, rainy spring
  
• Five lacrosse practices
  
• Three swim lessons
  
• Plus a memorable Mother’s Day celebrating my wife, because she’s earned it
  
• Can’t forget the two-night Metallica concert Daddy was able to sneak in!
  

My wife and I found ourselves no longer coordinating our next day's logistics the night before, because the calendar was so out of hand, we were just going to somehow find a way to survive it.

We aren’t special or alone. Parents everywhere feel this pinch, especially when hectic work schedules compound the issue. I will refrain from sharing anything about our intensive Q3 planning activities or our expedited A/B testing roadmap at work.

I’m not going to lie: during all these May milestones and activities, emotions have been high. 

I fought back tears picking up my fifth grader from her last after school care. For six years, those amazing human beings created a fun, nurturing, supportive environment for her to unwind, play and be creative.

We witnessed my youngest’s last preschool concert, marking the end of a nearly decade of us sending kids to that facility.

​My son had his first communion, where our entire family rightfully celebrated him for an entire day. It was literally a 14-hour celebration.

We experienced our dance recital weekend, where my two girls showcased the routines they’ve worked so hard to learn since August.

It’s been an ongoing joke, we parents were summoned to the elementary almost everyday for the last two weeks of school, all to celebrate our kids and our wonderful elementary community in some way. A highlight for me was volunteering during field day!

For every event this month, I found myself feeling proud, blessed and fighting off tears.

And now it’s all over. We shift to summer with its youth camps, freer evenings and pool days. A much-needed and appreciated change of pace. 

It’s the biggest parenting cliche, but it’s so true: the days are long, but the years are fast. I’m now the parent of a middle schooler. My youngest is done with preschool and moves onto kindergarten. These are exciting milestones worth celebrating but also a big reminder that this special time with our kids doesn’t last forever.

As crazy as it is, I’m thankful for this Maycember, the memories and the tears. My eyes are welling up typing this now.

-Steve Michalovich, founder, CBUS Dads