The late afternoon, right after school or summer camp, is go time for many parents. These are the moments where my twins have every kind of need, from taking off their outside gear and emptying lunch bags to signing permission forms, getting help on projects, and more. It is a period of chaos, usually with a desperate need for snacks as well as dinner preparation, all rolled up. There are days when things are calm, sure, but there are other times when I savour my last moments of quiet at 3:25 because from 3:35 until 6:30 or so, after dinner, I am a whirlwind doing Marathon Mom work.<\/p>\n
Our public junior high this year presented us with Mega Options activities for the last few days of school. While the various options were hyped to students in advance, only whispers of this made it home. So, on an average Monday afternoon in June, my kids told me to be sure to open the special Mega email fast, as all the best activities would fill up. At 4:30 on the button, my inbox told me about the many Mega Options I would need to hurry to fill out to meet my twins\u2019 expectations.<\/p>\n
There were so many choices: M\u00e9tis sash-weaving and historic cemetery trips, Inuit printmaking and Indigenous storytelling, Euro-style soccer tournaments, Pickleball, phone photography, kinesiology and nutrition lab field trips to a university, and more. There were bike treks, orienteering, the list went on. The selection was huge. Not every outing had a description or information. Some choices came with big fees. Others were free.<\/p>\n
It was a huge rush to decide. We watched some activities fill up even as we tried to sign up \u2013 and, with twins, we had to sign up twice. In the end, my more social kid called one of his close friends. On the other end of the phone line, I heard his mom, a teacher I am friendly with, coaching him through. It was a great solace to know I was not alone in sorting through this!<\/p>\n
Within moments, both my twins were signed up, with their friend, for one day of board games, outside games, and baking bannock and eating together. The other day was reserved for going to Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg\u2019s version of New York City\u2019s Central Park, and always a fan favourite. I emailed the other mom afterwards. \u201cSheesh!\u201d she replied. \u201cThat was stressful \u2013 lol.\u201d It was. She was completely right. The Mega Options format left me strung out and worried. Did we make the right choices? What does \u201cA day at Assiniboine Park\u201d mean? There was no description. What do we parents need to provide? Lunch? Money? Rides?<\/p>\n
After the decisions were made and the activities secured, I was relieved. The fun warm weather choices our boys made were free, easy and uncomplicated. Sure, it wasn\u2019t going to be a big learning experience, but the decisions were made. We no longer had to dwell on the choices themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After stepping back, I realized that these late afternoon blitzes are so hard because they can be unpredictable and disorderly. There are multiple tasks thrown at parents at once, when we\u2019re not necessarily at our best energy-wise. Both flexibility and preparedness are necessary. There\u2019s no telling if today I\u2019ll have to be a math whiz, an event planner, or a custodian, cleaning up after a kid is sick in the hallway. (Hey, it happens.)<\/p>\n The skills required to manage the late afternoon rush aren\u2019t just relevant to kids. As adults, and as Jewish people, we are often offered \u201cMega Options\u201d when it comes to making choices. We don\u2019t have one specific menu item at restaurants, nor do we have a single kind of Jewish ritual, religious life or home observance. We face tons of choices every day. Further, while the pandemic narrowed some options, the post-pandemic world has vastly increased them. When our usual routines are disrupted, we\u2019re forced to evaluate what we\u2019ve done all along. Is streaming a religious service easiest?\u00a0 <\/span>Are we healthy enough to attend in person? What is the COVID protocol (or non-protocol) these days, even as the virus still circulates? Sometimes, we crave situations where the decisions are just made for us, even as we know it would be better to make up our own minds instead.<\/p>\n This was our world before Oct. 7. Afterwards, the choices became even larger. Now, questions of safety and freedom from harassment also come into play. We choose whether to wear anything identifiably Jewish when out on the street. We question if we\u2019ll feel safe attending this Jewish venue. Is attending this graduation\/parade\/campus\/event going to force us to deal with protesters or hate speech? Then there\u2019s: Are we still safe, wherever we live? Should we be considering a move to someplace safer? Is there somewhere safer?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We could pretend that all these choices are a part of the modern age, but we know from Torah study, the many debates of the Talmud and Jewish history that the act of making choices is an essential part of what it means to be Jewish. From the first, we were shown hard choices and real consequences: from Leviticus 10\u2019s Nadav and Abihu, who chose to sacrifice \u201cstrange fire\u201d and were struck down for it (a bad choice, apparently), to Deuteronomy 30:19, which summarizes a long list of choices we can make, concluding, \u201cI have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life\u2026.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Mega Options presented to celebrate the end of school is nothing when compared to big decisions in life. One could just shrug it off as no big deal \u2013 but life is a series of little choices, one after another, that can affect everything. Survivors of major disasters often explain how they \u201cjust missed\u201d the accident because they felt sick, woke up late or forgot to make their lunch. Historically, Jewish refugees described how they left at a moment\u2019s notice, with only a suitcase, or just the clothes on their backs.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t always know which choices are the big ones, or the good ones. Some of the best choices result in happy, long-lasting results, like meeting one\u2019s life partner, discovering a passion or skill, or experiencing an amazing natural event like a meteor shower or the Northern Lights. Here\u2019s to hoping our choices are easy and small ones, and that these options lead to all positive things. Here\u2019s to celebrations, miracles and good deeds this summer \u2013 may we all have more \u201cmega\u201d pleasant choices ahead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Joanne Seiff <\/b>has written regularly for the Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including <\/i>From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner<\/a> or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The late afternoon, right after school or summer camp, is go time for many parents. These are the moments where my twins have every kind of need, from taking off their outside gear and emptying lunch bags to signing permission forms, getting help on projects, and more. 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