The Sun Sets On Summer...

 

Hi!

I know it's not official just yet, but it feels like summer is over.

Where I live, kids are heading back to school after the weekend, it's back to routine, enforced bedtimes, early mornings, and an end to this year's rendition of summertime adventures. 

Don't get me wrong, I love fall. 

Summer is nice, I love the slowed pace of it, but the heat is not my friend. I know some love it, and thrive in it, I'm just not part of that some. 

Hence, loving fall. 

So, as you get ready to send your littles, and not-so-littles, off to the next step of their educational journey, take a second to take it in. 

This is the one and only time they are entering this moment. 

Their first day of grade whatever it is. They're facing new teachers, new kids, new bus drivers. They are, within themselves, just a little different than when they left last year. They might be a bit taller, a bit more unsure, a bit awkward. They might be dealing with the beginnings of a deeper voice, or feeling completely self-conscious about a first sports bra. They might be discovering all kinds of things about the person they are becoming and are struggling with confidence. They might be riddled with anxiety as the whole thing seems monumental. 

They might be raring to go, full of confidence paired with expectations, set impossibly high. They may have visions of being the captain of everything, the most popular, smartest, most attractive human that will walk the halls. 

It's likely going to be better or worse than they think, rarely is it exactly as they expect it to be. 

So, as you ready your littles, and not-so-littles, take a minute. Give them the gift of some of your undivided time to help them navigate the turmoil, whether it's triggered by excitement or dread. For them, it's like starting a new position at a job. Exciting, but a bit nerve-racking. 

I understand that school supplies are stupid expensive, but they don't need to feel that.

I understand that helping with homework gets both increasingly and equally foreign and difficult, but they can't be held responsible for that.

I understand that running from one activity to another puts a strain everything, but this is literally what you signed up for when you said yes. 

I understand that keeping track of all the things is exhausting. It just is.

But, before you know it, this too shall pass, and in a weird way, you'll miss it.

So, as the sun sets on summer, take the minute, the gift of undivided time is not only theirs. 

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May all good things come to you and yours as the school year begins.

May you get met, at the end of the day, with nothing but shining, bright, grins.

May all homework be simple, and every call from a teacher bring fantastic news.

May each morning be enveloped in sunshine and rainbows, each evening run smooth.

May this fantasy carry you through all of the negotiations involving bedtimes and curfews.

May patience, because you'll undoubtedly need it, become one of your strongest virtues.

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