The New School Year.

All week  long, my Instagram has been full of small smiling faces, a little scared excited, strapped into oversized backpacks, headed back to school. And I get it. I feel the same way.

Harry started school a week and a half ago, but we’re just now (kind of) settling into a groove. The loose schedule (or complete lack of schedule) was great, but we’re all ready for more of a consistent plan, an architecture to our days. And he is so ready to get back….we all are.

And also sorta not.

This summer was amazing. So amazing that I wasn’t here very often because I was there. June and July were a blur of travel..and I thought, after that was all over, I’d be back. In fact, I stated I was back. But then I wasn’t; August happened and I didn’t want to miss it either. So in the end, I basically took the summer off from here to really be in the world around me, and it was great. There’s always a flip side though, and I don’t have the days counted as I like to do for documentation and rememberings sake. So the whole thing is kind of a blur now. A beautiful coast to coast blur of sand castles and statue visits. I may go back and recount the weeks here to remember the summer. Or maybe I won’t. We’ll see. I’m not committing to the past at this point, I’m looking ahead.

I also started Gretchen Rubin’s book, Happier at Home yesterday. I wanted to wait until September to begin reading it because she approaches this year project like a school year (you should totally get it and start it this month, perfect back to school book). It’s also particularly fitting as I’m putting energy into redoing, redesigning and reorganizing my great grandmother’s home right now. I’m also so into this book because reading it is just like hearing Gretchen speak. I hear the cheerful lilt in her voice as she lays out a year’s focus in the most pragmatic ways. So simple. So smart. So warm.

Here’s a start:

“The weather set a perfect mood as I walked through the neighborhood with my long list of back-to-school errands; the late summer air hung rich with fresh beginnings and new possibilities, with a cooler edge that hinted that winter was coming. There was no time to waste. Vacation was over, and the end was the beginning. September was here.”

Happy Back to School everyone.

It’s on.