Hi Friends!

Wow…I’m actually writing to you about back to school time! I can’t believe it, but it’s here. Today was Hunter and Logan’s first day back. Logan is now in sixth grade and Hunter is in eighth…which means next year I will have a high schooler. Insert horrified blue-faced emoji here! This morning we had to do the obligatory first day of school photos, which means last night I had to quit my procrastinating and nail my schedule back down.

Cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen, packing my lunch, setting up the coffee pot for its 6 a.m. brewing, adding chores to the boys’ chalkboards for the next day, doing yet another load of laundry and getting my outfit ready for the morning. And then…I went to bed just after the kids did at 8:30 because I was awake at 3:30 yesterday morning, thanks to the two glasses of wine I drank before bed. It might’ve helped me fall asleep quickly, but after a few hours the stimulant side of it kicked in and I was wide awake. This is why I normally have only one glass of wine, and I drink it while making dinner between 5 & 6 in the evening. I feel like that is a sign I’m getting old if there ever was one!

Of course this morning started off in fine form. Gone are the days of sipping coffee while getting ready, and casually sauntering out the door when it’s time to leave for work. Instead, I had both kids to get up. I reminded them at least five times each to brush their teeth and comb their hair. I stopped between makeup and hair to make breakfast for Hunter (Logan eats at school). I curled my hair, fed the dog, fed the cats, then rushed the boys outside for their obligatory first day of school pictures. We all piled into the car, I put it in reverse to back out of the driveway, then realized the door was still standing wide open. Put it back in park, get out, close and lock the door, and then we were finally off…

We got up the street and I asked Hunter, “did you get your schedule put in your backpack?” I had found it on the coffee table the night before and placed it beside his backpack in his room. He gave me a blank stare and I knew he’d forgotten it. So I made a left and went back to the house. As we pulled up the driveway I said, “what about your gym clothes?” He gave a long “ummmm. I think so.” Friends…he definitely did not have those either! They were laying on his bed along with his schedule. He grabbed all of that, while I made a beeline to my room for another safety pin because I realized the V-neck of my wrap dress was still a little too low cut to be work appropriate and I would need to fix it.

Back to the car we went and were finally off to school and work. I got them dropped off and made it to work just a few minutes past my usual time. The first thing I did was stop off in the bathroom to fix my dress and put on lipstick. A little while later, as I was walking across the room to pick something up from the printer, I felt my stomach growl. I realized for the first time all morning that I’d forgotten to eat breakfast. It was going to be a loooong wait for lunch…but at least I packed my lunch the night before and remembered to grab it out of the fridge before I left!

This is what my normal looks like, and it is back in full force! This is why I have schedules and routines and things written down and scheduled in my calendar with as many reminders as I can get. This is why I plan and organize and have structure that can sometimes be crippling in moments of unpredictability. But it’s my very own version of organized chaos and I love every crazy minute of it!

I’m also hoping to have the crabapple tree down in the next week or so, and might be able to get some fall veggies planted. The rest of my gardening has been a bust this year, but it would be really nice to get some greens and some beets to finish of the growing season. My one lonely sunflower that survived the squirrels and the shade has finally bloomed, and the Zinnias are looking lovely. They’ve even attracted some yellow finches and hummingbirds, so even if this gardening season hasn’t been the success I’d hoped for, I definitely have a little something to show for the work I put in and it feels great!

Now I’m keeping my fingers crossed for good weather–right now there is rain, rain and more rain in the forecast–because I have a yen for hiking and camping that I really need to feed. Yesterday rain was in the forecast for Saturday, but today it is looking to be dry. By the time the day comes there is no telling what it will be…but I’m hoping to be on a hiking trail somewhere on Saturday morning! We also have a tentative camping trip set for September 15th, the next weekend my mom, stepdad and sister will be in town.

I can’t even tell you how excited I am for the upcoming Fall! It is my favorite season and already we have things to look forward to. Stay tuned…I can’t wait to share the fun will all of you!

Love,
Loren