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Payne Family travel to and from their various activities, some starting as early as 5 pm.
What is your favorite activity to attend? Why? We love going to all of their games and now that they are all involved, we often have to tag team, which means missing some of them. That’s the toughest part. How has being involved in activities impacted your family? Activities essentially dominate our family calendar. We are usually bringing someone to practice or a game every night of the week, and weekends in the summer are filled with travel and tournaments. Tory also coaches some of the boys’ teams, so that requires additional time and commitment. I am often trying to coordinate “dinner-on-the-go” as we
What benefits do you see from participating in activities? Are there any challenges or disadvantages? They learn values such as good sportsmanship, teamwork, discipline, dedication and what it means to work hard for success. But, most importantly, they build friendships with their teammates and have fun! We often remind them that the minute it’s not fun anymore, they can be done. It is challenging to find balance with schoolwork, practice, church, all their activities and prioritizing family time. Are you involved in the community or any activities of your own? Please explain. I am involved with Go Red for Women, Business and Professional Women, Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Estate Planning Council, the Chamber of Commerce
and Southeastern. Tory officiates high school football, recently served three years as our church treasurer and is currently on the Finance Committee. We are both involved in various social clubs as well. How do you balance your family’s schedules? A master calendar and lots of communication! We are constantly texting about who is picking up or dropping off, what field or gym they are playing at and how we are getting everybody to where they need to go at the right time. It takes patience and a good sense of humor, too. What advice do you have for other families involved in activities? Balance is the key. Activities can take a lot of time and energy, so be sure to make time for just being together as a family. We cherish the rare dinners around the table and work hard to keep our priorities in check – faith, family, friends, and fun. Schoolwork comes first, but their activities add fun and, we believe, help to instill values we feel are important to defining who they become. n
How did your family choose which activity or activities to participate in? What influenced your decision? Each of our four children has very different interests. We didn’t choose their activities; we provided opportunities for our children to participate in various activities and they “settled in” to the one they felt most comfortable with.
Randazzo Family 18 |
February 2014 | thehoodmagazine.com
What are your children’s favorite activities? Why? Josh’s favorite activity is swimming. He is on the Snowfox Swim Team. He used to be scared of the water, so we enrolled him in swim lessons. Shortly thereafter, he grew to love the sport and started swimming for Snowfox at the age of 9. He likes the competitiveness of the sport and being in the water. Julia’s favorite activity is dance. She has been dancing since the age of 2 ½. Her favorite type of dance is Hip Hop because it’s fast paced and she