Too Much.

I started typing this piece in May and got as far as the title. (The fact that I forgot to publish it in August when I finished says nothing good.) I was exhausted. So was my family. Even the dogs seemed worn out. As the world was opening back up, we were shutting down.

Once the last youth baseball game, the last team party, the last rehearsal, the last performance, the last quiz, the last dress-up-special-end-of-year occasion had passed, I started coming back to life…and marveling at the Too Much Mess in which we live.

Too much driving. Too much rushing. Too many practices. Too many reps. Too many injuries sustained too young. Too many rehearsals. Too many lessons. Too many late nights. Too many early mornings. Too many school functions. Too much homework. Too many tests. Too many snarfed meals. Too many “capstone” school projects at each semester’s end. Too much capstone-related shopping. Too many specialists. Too much scheduling. Too much rescheduling. Too much worry. Too much stress. Too much cortisol. Too much inflammation. Too much serious illness I can’t help but think is related. Too many lists. Too many errands. Too much fidgeting. Too much information. Yet still, too much screen time. Too much surviving.

Too little connection. Too little listening. Too little touching. Too little downtime. Too few boundaries. Too few walks. Too little reading. Too little breathing. Too little reflection. Too little exercise. Too little boredom, so too little creativity. Too little play time. Too little joy. Too little presence. Too little sleep. Too little cooking. Too few civilized meals. Too few date nights. Too few vacations. Too little time. Too little spontaneity. Too little living.

And don’t tell me that living in better balance is merely “a choice.” We are all bound by the social norms that dominate the environments in which we live — just to varying degrees. And fewer of those norms are normal. More of them are unreasonable. For example: my kids love baseball. But the little league to which we are zoned is over the top. (Over all tops.) Too many practices and games too late at night — too many coaches and parents who have lost touch with reality and youth sports’ value. But it’s either OTT baseball or no baseball. Not much of a choice.

I have no answers. Just questions. Where are we and how did we get here? I think these questions are always worth asking. They might also end up defining my generation.