As we say goodbye to August, zip up backpacks and transition back into school mode, I think back on what makes this transition both exhilarating and needed.

For our family, we go hard from September until May. Our girls are involved in soccer, running, basketball, band, chorus, orchestra, theater, and dance. We talk about the weekly schedule before we sign up for activities and the girls commit to their own schedules as long as I can get them where they need to go each week. We all enjoy making new friends and sharing new experiences throughout the year, but when we transition into summer break, we let all the busy from the year melt away.

We savor slower mornings.

Popsicles count as lunch.

Ice cream becomes a major food group.

Neighborly door knocks asking to play are welcomed.

Towels hanging on railings from pool days are our summer decor.

We watch through their eyes as we travel to new places.

Curling up with books after spending an afternoon at our local library might be my favorite.

Barbie toys that never get put away because play is never quite finished.

And then it’s over in what feels like both a slow burn and in a blink. They seem to grow an entire year in three months time. They’re off to school again in bigger shoes and baggier jeans. We all in some strange world, after enjoying our time at home, breathe a sigh of relief that we made it.

Summer is a time-capsule of their childhood and my motherhood. None of us will ever be this age again. We all grow a little older, a little more resilient and a little more changed from life each year. We’ve checked off riding a bike without training wheels, monkey bars and are so close to tying shoes. Summer allows us to remember that THESE are the big moments. The ones I’m already mourning because they are behind us.

So as you begin a new school year with new ambitions and expectations, take a piece of summer as you transition to the busy. Maybe you can’t read as many books as you did this summer, but I bet you can still read before bed. Family time becomes a little more challenging, but a game night here and there will make all the difference. Don’t forget we can still eat ice cream after soccer games, s’mores nights still count and that it’s okay for the Barbie toys to stay on the floor a little longer, because we never know what next season will bring. For now, I’m going to savor this one.

Thanks for stopping in! Let’s stay connected and see the world together!