Team! I am so happy to be back, but I have to tell you about the procrastination-spiral I had to come out of to get this post out to you. As my subscribers know, while the date on this post is September 6th, I wasn’t even close to having my ducks in a row by the beginning of September. But then I remembered—I wrote myself a letter last October because of this oh-so familiar feeling that comes up for me every single fall. Do you know this feeling, friends? That feeling of being behind before the race has even begun? So, we’re going to kick off Season Nine with what Mags 2023 wanted Mags 2024 to remember: 

MamaDe!

I am writing this to remind you that you genuinely needed that break you just took in August from the constant demands of work, life and parenting. Please don’t do that thing this year where you regret taking time off because you ignored all the piles and they’re so flippin’ high when you return. Yes, the piles are overwhelming, but take a deep breath and remember what the Navy SEALs taught us: ‘Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.’

Also, you do not have to get to everything in the first two weeks of school. Why? Because this is a time when you’re also trying to navigate the demands of a new academic year with different schedules, new routines, an increased amount of school events and we won’t even get into the ancillary paperwork and correspondence with teachers and coaches.

Another thing to remember: It always takes a while for you to get into the groove of things. Please be patient with yourself. Please be kind to yourself. Take your time finding the best weekly routine—it will all start to become easier after a few weeks.

Ok Team, this letter does continue, but I won’t bore you with all of it. I’ll just share the overarching advice I give myself, which is: Just go through the motions in the beginning. Show up in front of the piles. Maybe start with the school paperwork that was due a week ago and chip away from there. Show up at the gym, but just give 10% for now. Rather than doing anything radical with your meal plan, just start adding foods that give energy rather than zap energy. 

TeamConfessioners, I think I’m going to have to read this letter to myself every year until my kids move out. I absolutely forget how hard I can be on myself to expect that I can pull together in days what I’ve let fall by the wayside for months in some cases. So here I am folks, weeks late, but just showing up and doing the best I can for now. This year is going to be all about not creating stress where stress doesn’t need to exist.

Here’s to a great new season of Confessions!

Next week we’re going to celebrate one of our summer submissions! Whoot! Whoot! I was so thrilled to hear from so many of you in August. Be sure to tune in to hear that wisdom next week. And, as always, thanks for listening!