the lovelies | first day of school

the first day of school begins most years with a wave of welcome relief.

i stretch my arms wide open and embrace the return to structure and routine. squeezing all the rituals that bookend our days as if they are well-loved companions.

today, however, began with heavy hesitation. and i think it plans on shadowing me.

another year slipped through our fingers. and i suspect the days ahead will be just as slippery.

this is the lovelies’ last round in elementary school. five years gone by. and this one seems it might spin by us, too.

next year, it is the big house. and with that comes a different set of challenges and journeys. a lollapalooza of new thoughts, influences, and experiences. and it all makes me just want to hit pause until i can take enough air into my lungs. enough for one long exhale to get through those years.

which is why today feels bittersweet. tremendous overwhelm rushes me when i contemplate my wee chickens starting kindergarten. . .

and the full bloom 5th graders they are now.

watching little people grow is an enormous privilege. knowing these personalities sharing space with us are entirely on their own paths. sweet souls burning so brightly in their own magnificence. and to extinguish any of it would be crazy so you let the flames dance. and as they do, they consume the days. a little too quickly.

xo