My September goals

This week both the children are back at school full time - Mia starts in Year 5 and Harry starts Year 7 at a new school. They've been at home for a long time, with both learning from home and enjoying a summer break, and it's going to be a big adjustment for us all. Like most people, even though we are getting back into a routine, my life looks quite different than it did back in March when everything turned upside down.

September and the start of a new term always feels like a good time to reassess goals and make plans for the remaining months of the year. So here are some of the things that I want to achieve this September, and onwards.

* A positive transition back to school. A return to routine, with normal and relaxing bedtimes, making time to chat about any worries and anxieties, along with a massive reduction in screen time.

* Getting back into blogging. As well as being the time of year for reflection and planning, with Halloween and Christmas coming up there is plenty of seasonal content to both create and update. I'm going to aim for three blog posts a week and I'll be pleased if I manage two for the time being.

* Picking up the exercise again. Our gym has been shut since April and our membership is currently frozen until the beginning of October. Thanks to a great deal we signed up for back in January we are fully paid up for at least the next year, so cancelling the membership isn't an option. Until we return, I need to get my fitness back by going out for some runs now that I have some free time during the day.

Photo credit Nadia Pimenova via Unsplash

* Stock up the cupboards again in case of a future lockdown/quarantine and for any issues caused by Brexit. I was grateful to have prepared a modest Brexit stockpile which kept us going through the first weeks of lockdown - we had plenty of pasta and sauce at least, although the flour and yeast shortages took me by surprise! But we've been working our way through it over the summer, and now that I know the sorts of things that people stockpile, it's easy to pick up a few extra bits each week to make sure that we have enough food and other essentials on hand.

* I've re-discovered the library over the last few weeks and I definitely want to keep up with regular visits and making the time to read. It's almost easier in some ways because our library has very limited opening hours so it helps me to plan in a regular visit!

* General tidying up and sorting out. At the beginning of lockdown the children took over our guest bedroom and turned it into their playroom. They spread Lego and Playmobil out all over the floor and built complicated built train tracks and Hexbug layouts. Even though we don't have any immediate plans for overnight guests it would be nice to have a room that isn't full of dusty plastic, so I'm gradually tidying it up, or at least trying to contain some of the smaller bits in boxes.

* I need to make the time for my crafting. I've been doing really well this year with finishing an incomplete craft project each month, so well in fact that I don't have an obvious project to complete this month. So I'm planning to put my time in September towards my cross stitch map with is a long term work in progress.

* Embrace the school run. Like many people I find the school run stressful, with time spent sitting in traffic and arriving early to secure a parking space. I'll be listening to some new music on Spotify and maybe searching out a few podcasts to listen to so that I can try and make it more enjoyable.

Lots to be getting on with there!

Photo credit Glenn Carstens-Peters via Unsplash