EP 137: The Kids Are Back to School… What About Us?

So yeah, somewhere in all of that planning, I've actually been thinking about a different question.

What about us? What about us, the moms, the women in this season of life? What does this next season look for us? Because our kids aren't the only ones moving into a new season.

We are, too, and maybe instead of just resetting everyone else's routines, this is an opportunity to ask ourselves, "What do I want my life to feel like this fall?" Not, what do I need to accomplish, not what should I finally get around to doing.

We're all good at those lists.

Not how can I become more productive now that summer is over.

No, no, no. I'm talking about, like, how do I want to feel? Because those are very different questions, and I think these in- questions are really important to ask ourselves because if we don't be intentional about what we want this next season, what we want fall, the beginning of the school year to look like for us, we will get swept up in the schedules, on the hamster wheel, getting sucked into everybody else's priorities, and before we know it, we're in holiday overwhelm and setting intentions for the new year when really we don't even know what just happened the last few months.

[chuckles] So I r- really want you to hear me when I say ask yourself these questions.

How do you want to feel in this next season? Because there's definitely this trap that a lot of us can fall into in this back to school time of year.

We look at the calendar and think, "Okay, once the kids go back to school, I'll finally get my life together." I know I've been like this.

I've been accidentally doing this in the last few weeks, you know? Oh, I'll clean out every closet when they, when they go to school, and I'll work out five times a week.

I'll meal prep.

I'll organize the house.

I'll get ahead with all my work.

I'll finally start that project, and I'll make all the appointments because I'll have all this time.

And then y- I start to think, you know, crazier thoughts like, I'll volunteer.

I'll get to answer all my emails right away, and I'll finally do everything I've been putting off since approximately the end of May.

And suddenly, we're taking whatever breathing room this season might have created and filled every inch of it before it even begins.

And listen, I love a fresh start.

I really do.

I love what a new school year signifies, just like I love what a new year signifies, but there's something about a new school year and a fresh calendar that makes me want to buy organizational bins and convince myself that this is finally the year I'm [chuckles] going to become the kind of person who has a perfectly organized pantry.

But, you know, I also know myself, and I'm realizing more and more that I don't necessarily need another system, right? 'Cause how many times have we started these things only to feel behind again, or only to feel like, "Oh, why, why can't I get this done?" Or, "Why isn't this system working for me?" Sometimes we don't need another system.

Sometimes I need more space, and I bet sometimes you need more space, too.

And I wonder how many of us are so used to filling every available pocket of time that when a little bit of space finally opens up, our first instinct is to immediately give it away, you know, to our house, our jobs, our kids, errands, obligations, all the things we've decided that we should be doing.

So before we do that this fall, and we're in this together here because [laughs] I'm, I'm not speaking as an expert.

I'm not here to give you all these, like, back to school tips.

So yeah, somewhere in all of that planning, I've actually been thinking about a different question.

What about us? What about us, the moms, the women in this season of life? What does this next season look for us? Because our kids aren't the only ones moving into a new season.

We are, too, and maybe instead of just resetting everyone else's routines, this is an opportunity to ask ourselves, "What do I want my life to feel like this fall?" Not, what do I need to accomplish, not what should I finally get around to doing.

We're all good at those lists.

Not how can I become more productive now that summer is over.

No, no, no. I'm talking about, like, how do I want to feel? Because those are very different questions, and I think these in- questions are really important to ask ourselves because if we don't be intentional about what we want this next season, what we want fall, the beginning of the school year to look like for us, we will get swept up in the schedules, on the hamster wheel, getting sucked into everybody else's priorities, and before we know it, we're in holiday overwhelm and setting intentions for the new year when really we don't even know what just happened the last few months.

[chuckles] So I r- really want you to hear me when I say ask yourself these questions.

How do you want to feel in this next season? Because there's definitely this trap that a lot of us can fall into in this back to school time of year.

We look at the calendar and think, "Okay, once the kids go back to school, I'll finally get my life together." I know I've been like this.

I've been accidentally doing this in the last few weeks, you know? Oh, I'll clean out every closet when they, when they go to school, and I'll work out five times a week.

I'll meal prep.

I'll organize the house.

I'll get ahead with all my work.

I'll finally start that project, and I'll make all the appointments because I'll have all this time.

And then y- I start to think, you know, crazier thoughts like, I'll volunteer.

I'll get to answer all my emails right away, and I'll finally do everything I've been putting off since approximately the end of May.

And suddenly, we're taking whatever breathing room this season might have created and filled every inch of it before it even begins.

And listen, I love a fresh start.

I really do.

I love what a new school year signifies, just like I love what a new year signifies, but there's something about a new school year and a fresh calendar that makes me want to buy organizational bins and convince myself that this is finally the year I'm [chuckles] going to become the kind of person who has a perfectly organized pantry.

But, you know, I also know myself, and I'm realizing more and more that I don't necessarily need another system, right? 'Cause how many times have we started these things only to feel behind again, or only to feel like, "Oh, why, why can't I get this done?" Or, "Why isn't this system working for me?" Sometimes we don't need another system.

Sometimes I need more space, and I bet sometimes you need more space, too.

And I wonder how many of us are so used to filling every available pocket of time that when a little bit of space finally opens up, our first instinct is to immediately give it away, you know, to our house, our jobs, our kids, errands, obligations, all the things we've decided that we should be doing.

So before we do that this fall, and we're in this together here because [laughs] I'm, I'm not speaking as an expert.

I'm not here to give you all these, like, back to school tips.