I always think September can be a funny time of year, with quite mixed emotions. Often you have been away and had a fab holiday, you might have been juggling work and childcare, you might have had the summer off with the kids and now it is back to school, work and a bit more of a routine.
This year I have enjoyed going back to work. I was actually craving my time, the quiet, the space, the focus. The children were very argumentative this summer, which meant it wasn't as wonderful as I have found it in the past. We have hormones flying all over the place and wow, it can be fun at times!!
Previously I have felt sad that the summer is over and I wasn't ready for the kids to go back. They were little and needed me and we did magical adventures together, every day. We did a few this year but screen time and friends are starting to dominate that little bit more.
I want my children to grow up confident and happy and able to be independent, but I do miss the playtime we had. It is a period of letting go again. Of recognising that they are still wanting to have fun but in a different way now, it is more productive than imaginative.
I gave myself time off from work, except for my 1:1 clients and I did need the break. The strange thing though was even with more time I was so unproductive!! In the last week I have done more of everything than the whole summer!
It got me thinking as to why this was...I know I like routine. I am a creature of habit, as many of us are and I eat healthier, exercise more, get more work done, when the kids are at school and it is all to do with my routine. Everything has a time and place and it just gets done because that is what I do. It is as much as on my drive to work I eat a banana and on the way home an apple. I listen to my podcast and study on my way to and from work. These are things that just didn't happen as much in the holidays. I run now 3 times a week, sometimes 4 and again I do this as soon as the kids leave for school at a set time. I didn't run even twice a week in the holidays...
So even though I like the freedom of the holidays; to get up when I like, to relax, to do what we want when we want and not feel any pressure, just to live in the moment, I am loving my healthier lifestyle now I have my timings back!!
Once you know how you work best and what creates the most positive lifestyle for you, you can work with it and understand that when you are feeling unproductive, maybe you are out of alignment with yourself.
If you are finding it tricky letting go and your little ones are struggling to say goodbye at school, I feel your pain. My youngest would be so sad at home and we would have tears and absolute pleading with me to not go in. He enjoyed school, but suffered with seperation anxiety. It made the mornings very hard for us both but we are getting there slowly but surely. What helped him was football and being part of a team. Knowing that he had his team around him during the school day, playing at lunchtime and supporting him when he needed it.
What helped me was looking after me, by working on having a positive mindset, living in the present, taking time to focus on my breath and spending time outside. I also had some good friends who would give me a hug as I walked away from school in floods of tears!
So here is to a new term, a positive mindset, to letting go and living in the moment.
