I love September!! Finally, the beach fog has lifted and the crowds dissipated. To me it finally feels like summer, but bonus, the kids are back in school!! Woo woo! Whether you have a preschooler or older kids, I think they crave the structure and routine that school offers as well as creating their own little life and persona outside of the house. My kids were so excited for summer, but almost equally excited to get back to school.
It might feel like summer, but it’s FALL. No, I’m not ready to start busting out the pumpkin spice everything just yet, but for me, the beginning of Fall is the time of year when we start shedding. (I’m not talking about shedding my summer mojito and late night dinner weight, although that would be nice 🤣), I’m talking about shedding the weight in your life that is holding you down and not allowing you to function at your optimal level.
Just as trees shed their leaves and give themselves a chance to rest and regenerate through Winter, we must also try to let go of excess and simplify. Let’s Marie Kondo a little, and try to only hold onto the things in our lives that are absolutely necessary or those things that spark joy.
For example, my kids used to complain that they didn’t like their lunches. So guess what?? They make their own lunches now. We have little bento boxes and they know that a sandwich (or some kind of balanced protein/carbs) goes in one compartment, a fruit in one, and vegetable in the other. Then for snack they can bring a fruit and something fun like a yogurt or chips etc. I have things washed and ready for them in the fridge at the beginning of the week. They feel proud that they make their own lunches, don’t complain about what’s in it (I get it, just because you liked peanut butter and jelly yesterday doesn’t mean you want it again today. Maybe you wanted turkey and cheese or a bagel), and I got to shed one BIG leaf from my tree. Why is making their school lunches such a pain and so stressful. Now, everyone is winning.
You know what else I stopped doing? Going to Costco so often. It’s amazing. I was always stressed, would end up with all three kids begging for stuff, and end up spending hours loading and unloading and playing Tetris in my car trying to make it all fit. Now, once a month I use Costco’s free two hour delivery powered by Instacart (also the best thing next to amazon) and I just took advantage of the Labor Day sales and got a killer deal on a cheap fridge for my garage to store food that wouldn’t fit in our regular fridge (yes to more freezer space!!) so I can have fewer trips to Costco and spend less time grocery shopping! Bum bum bum … and another leaf bites the dust!!
After you shed some leaves, try to think of what makes you happy. I randomly had a ladies pool party with five friends the other day. One of them brought champagne, one brought tequila, and another brought a whole chocolate cake she made from scratch. (Lol, I clearly have awesome friends.) I can’t tell you how fun it was to just be together with no agenda and swim! When is the last time you jumped in a pool and didn’t have to worry about keeping any tiny humans alive?? It was amazing!! Why don’t we do this kind of stuff more often! As adults, we forget to play – and you bet I got sparkly flamingo and unicorn floaties just for us! I probably could have gotten some work done in those three hours, but what I accomplished was so much more. I let go of the things that weren’t critical and did something that sparked joy. I made a choice to let go of my to do list and do something that allowed me to really connect with other women and relax a little.
What are some leaves in your life that you can let go of? If you don’t prune a tree it will not thrive. Simplify and hold onto the things that bring you joy.
Happy Fall.
Love,
The Caps