WR... to savor the last days of summer.

Running in a tank top and shorts is pure heaven compared to the layers we have to pile on come early January. We want to hold onto the carefree days of flip-flops, beach hair, and banana splits that occasionally count as dinner. Inevitably, the seasons will change and soon we’ll fall in love again with pumpkin lattes and sweater weather. The transition is hard, but there are always things to look forward to such as back-to-school shopping, even if you aren’t going back to school! The blank notebooks and brand new set of markers in every color imaginable are so tempting some of us cannot resist!

I just finished back-to-school shopping with my youngest child and dropped her off for her first year in college. She was the lucky recipient of the brand new pack of colorful markers I couldn’t resist. There’s something satisfying about sending a child off into the world that makes you feel as if you’ve done your job to raise a young adult capable of heading off on their own. You revel in the fact that the house may actually stay clean for more than 15 minutes, the fridge will stay stocked a little longer and the constant noise of the in and out of the house with her friends will settle down.

Soon you realize it’s far too clean, there’s too much food in the fridge and it’s far too quiet. The transition will take a little longer. Maybe even to the other side of pumpkin latte season. Then we’ll settle in and embrace the cleanliness, the well-stocked pantry, and the peace and quiet. It’s then that the Holidays will be upon us and the chaos will once again ensue. But this time, we’ll appreciate the mess, the extra trips to the grocery store, and the sweet sound of a full house once again, even if it is for just a little while.

Happy back-to-school shopping!

- Kyra