It is wild that summer is already over and school has begun! 😳

We recently reposted a video we shot when I was actually pregnant with Bear, who will somehow be THREE in December. Like... excuse me?! TIME FLIES. We were joking about toddler life and how one second everything is fine, everyone is happy, you think you’ve got it all under control, and then two seconds later someone is getting into something and you’re onto the next thing haha!

Honestly, it kind of feels like life right now too.

I swear summer just started. We were getting into the rhythm of slower mornings, summer activities, vacations and having the kids home and then all of a sudden... backpacks are packed and we’re back to school.

It’s funny how quickly something can become your “normal,” and then before you even realize it, you’re already moving into the next season.

I was thinking about how different summer probably feels when you don’t have kids in school. Work doesn’t stop. Life doesn’t necessarily slow down. Maybe you take a vacation here and there, and of course the weather changes (it is BOILING here in Tennessee 🔥), but there isn’t necessarily this defined “break” in the year.

We were married for a few years before we had kids, and then our kids weren’t immediately in school, so we went a long time without that rhythm too. But now? The school year and summer break feel so normal that it’s almost hard to remember what life felt like before them.

Which, naturally, sent me down one of my deep-thinking rabbit holes.

I actually came across a study published in BMC Medicine that looked at more than 900,000 people and found that disruptions to daily routines were associated with higher levels of anxiety and psychological distress. Which makes sense, right? There is comfort in knowing what comes next. Wake up. Breakfast. School. Work. Dinner. Bedtime. Repeat.

But I also think there is a difference between having a routine and white-knuckling one.

As we get back into earlier mornings, packed lunches, drop-offs and all of the things, I’m trying to remind myself not to grip it all so tightly. We can be grateful for the break we had AND excited for what comes next. And I think part of that for me is remembering to actually enjoy where we are right now.

One thing we’ve really loved this summer is just being outside together as a family. Running around, playing, getting dirty, being on our land and dreaming about what it can become as our family grows. We feel incredibly grateful to have the space we do, and it’s been really fun slowly making it more ours.

We’ve been working on a few projects outside, including a new driveway and, very excitingly, a pickleball court. I love thinking about all the games that will be played out there, the friends and family who will come over, and the memories our kids will make on this land as they grow up.

I think that’s part of what I’m realizing in this season. Just when something starts to feel normal, something shifts. Our kids get older. Our routines change. Our home changes. We change.

Maybe the goal isn’t to get so good at a routine that nothing ever disrupts it. Maybe it’s learning to enjoy what’s right in front of us while still being excited about what we’re growing into.

I definitely don’t have that figured out. BUT I do know (and have to keep reminding myself this) I don’t have to do every season perfectly. I can be where I am, soak up this version of our family and trust that we’re growing through it.

So whether you’re sending kiddos back to school, starting something completely new, or life looks almost exactly the same as it did a month ago, I hope you know you’re still changing too. Growth isn’t always obvious while it’s happening.

What are you shifting into right now? A new routine? A new season? Or maybe just a new way of looking at the same life?

We really do love connecting with you guys. Hit reply and tell us. ❤️

— Shawn Johnson and Andrew East

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