The start of a school year is a major transition, for everyone; and I have enough school years under my belt now to remember that. I try to take it easy on myself their first days back. I came home to an empty house after drop-off and read, journaled, and did yoga in the morning sun, which doesn’t make me feel accomplished, exactly, but does make me feel like the person I want to be.

I had an appointment at 10, and then came back home without any necessary to-dos. I took advantage of a few open hours and a consistent warm breeze outside: I dove back into my novel under the umbrella on the deck. A mentor had given me a few notes a couple of weeks back, and I had intentionally chosen to wait. I wanted time to think through the advice, determine what was mine. I also wanted a day just like this one where there was space to really make sound decisions.

When it was time for pick-up, I packed snacks and cold waters and chatted with the girls about their days. We had some time at home, so Trevor and I made happy hour mules and sat on the deck. We had to come in as a thunderstorm quickly rolled in, and from the kitchen, we spotted this massive bull elk, enjoying the shower ad drinking water caught in tree bark. He was majestic.

We had a quick dinner of local sausages from The Butcher’s Hook and then left for middle school back-to-school night. The evening ended in snacks and giggles and cold air pouring in from the open sliding door.