For many busy families with kids in school, summer life is about shuffling this kid to camp, that kid to a game and the other kid to another activity. Once they are all where they need to be, it starts all over again.
Emporia moms Becky Wheeler and Angela Cheever say their lives are no different.
Cheever is balancing four kids’ lives. There are her daughters Kelsey, 13; and Emily, 6; and her nieces Jamie Aikman, 13; and Katherine Aikman, 10. Cheever works at The Girl Scouts of the Flint Hills so, obviously, everybody is heavily involved in Girl Scouts, she said.
“There are three different troops we are involved in,” Cheever said.
The girls are involved in softball and are in the middle of that season, Cheever said.
“The youngest one is playing T-ball and that’s about every night,” she said.
In additional to softball, the girls are involved with their church, Camp Alexander and in spring and fall they are involved in soccer.
“Then there’s just various school activities that are going on,” Cheever said. “There’s dances, open houses, reading nights, skates, all that great stuff.”
A typical day in the summer is crazy, Cheever said.
“I’m usually running errands before work, lunch and after work,” she said. “There is no ‘typical’ day. Every day is different. I have to stay organized. That’s the key to keeping everything going.”
In addition to the various activities, the Cheevers are remodeling their home they moved into last November.
“So that’s just an added thing,” she said. “It’s not just the day to day stuff.”
Cheever said her husband, Zeke, is a lifesaver. They have been married nearly 15 years.
“I don’t know what I’d do without him,” Cheever said. “He just does so much. We’re a team.”
Cheever also asks her parents to step in and help out.
“Sometimes I hand things off to my parents,” she said.
Cheever said she and her husband strive to treat all the girls equally.
“We want them to be able to do all they want to do,” she said.
Cheever said she keeps organized by keeping a planner.
“I write everything down,” she said. “Anything important that I have to take care of that day goes in the pocket of the planner.”
For other families, Cheever offered several tips. She said delegate things when possible, stay organized and don’t take yourself so seriously.
“If something goes wrong, just laugh at it and keep going,” she said. “Be flexible. Sometimes things just don’t work. Keep moving. It doesn’t stop.”
Wheeler has two children, Jenika, 16 and Ashley, 13. Before Jenika Wheeler turned 16, life was pretty hectic, Becky Wheeler said.
“They are very involved in a lot of things,” she said.
And by “very involved” Becky Wheeler means Girl Scouts; dance team; swim team; gymnastics; church youth group; fundraisers and yoga just to name a few.
Wheeler said the family is busy every night. Monday night would be Girl Scouts and yoga. Tuesday night’s are dedicated to gymnastics. Wednesday night is youth group night. Thursday night is usually a free night, but not always and Friday night is usually filled with school activities.
The Wheelers have a calendar in the kitchen that is color-coded with different activities. Wheeler said living in Emporia helps.
“I do appreciate living in Emporia because I think it’s safer for the kids and everything is close,” she said. “We don’t live too far from the library and Emporia has lots of activities. We try to stay busy and active and have lots of fun.”
Wheeler said to keep the family organized she keeps the calendar up to date and usually writes notes at 5 a.m. before going to work at Newman Regional Health.
“I write chores down on a note,” she said. “It we’re getting low on something I ask them to write it on a grocery list.”
Wheeler said communication is key to keeping busy families informed and together.
“Everything seems to work better when you’re communicating what’s going on,” she said.