Talk to Me Thursday: The Very End of Summer

Last week I told you we were soaking up the last couple weeks of summer. Well, friends — this is it. This is the very end.

Today we're heading to meet Lennon's teacher and see her new school for the first time. Tomorrow, we're moving our Marisa into college.

Two completely different stages of motherhood, colliding in the same 24 hours.

Today: A New School, A New Teacher

Tonight we get to walk into Lennon's new school, meet her teacher, and see the classroom that's about to become such a big part of her world. The backpack is bought. The lunch box is picked out. The school supplies are packed away in their labeled folders and pencil boxes, ready to go. Everything is done except actually walking through those doors and letting this new season officially begin.

I feel that same mix of excited and nervous I told you about last week, except now it's not a "someday soon" feeling — it's a "this is happening tomorrow" feeling. There's something about seeing the classroom in person, meeting the teacher who's going to spend the next year with your kid, that makes it all feel so real.

Tomorrow: Moving Our Marisa Into College

And then tomorrow, we shift into a completely different kind of goodbye. We're moving our Marisa into college — soaking up this last day and this last weekend before her own new chapter begins. Marisa isn't ours by blood, but she's every bit one of mine — one of the ones I've adopted into my heart along the way. She'll still be close, still be family in every way that matters, but this is a big step in life all the same, and it comes with its own kind of goodbye.

It's a strange thing, being in two seasons of motherhood at once. One daughter starting first grade, learning to read chapter books and make new friends on the playground. Another part of my heart stepping into a dorm room, starting the next chapter of figuring out who she's becoming out in the world. Both feel like they happened overnight. Both make my heart so full and so nervous all at the same time.

Holding Both at Once

I don't think there's a tidy way to wrap up a week like this one. There's excitement. There's nervousness. There's a whole lot of change happening all at once, in every direction. New school. New teacher. New home. New everything.

But through all of it, we're praying for the best year — for Lennon settling into her new classroom and making friends who feel like home. For Marisa finding her footing in this next chapter and knowing she's not doing it alone. For all of us, honestly, as we adjust to a season that looks different than the one we just left behind.

Summer is over. A new season is here, ready or not. And we're walking into it together, trusting that it's going to be a good one — even with all the change that comes with it. 🤍

xoxo,
Katie

If you're in a season of big transitions right now too — whatever that looks like for your family — I'd love to hear about it. Drop a comment and let me know what you're walking through this week.