We are getting ready to go back to school at my house this week. Kids are getting up earlier and going to bed earlier- and we have gotten back into the habit of reading and doing math facts. The routine of school is always more demanding than summer routines. I do cherish the summer…riding bikes and baseball games. My kids play around the house, pretending with their littlest pet shop collections, building with legos and experimenting with the art supplies that are forever cluttering up the kitchen table, but I love that they can get engrossed in something that lets them explore creatively without the interruption of me having to yell, “It’s time to go! Hurry up and get ready so we are not late!!”

Then again, it will be good to get back into the routine. I can already tell my son’s additions facts are not as keen now, as they were at the end of the school year. Little ones that thrive on routine, like my daughter, are getting board and cranky. The biggest problem with the impending loom of the first day back to school, is the stress that come with it all. I am trying to be proactive this time and do a better job planning ahead so that we transition smoothly without all the stress, but I feel it creeping into my neck muscles no matter what I do.

Then I remember to stretch and breathe and I am reminded of how lucky I am to do music with little kids everyday. I get down on the floor with all the little ones with my guitar, and for the time that I am there, I forget about my daily stresses. I breathe deeply, I sing with my soul, I dance until I’m breathless and drum away all the worries in the room.

Back to school routines will be good. Goodbye Summer! It was a good one.