3 Ways to Survive (and THRIVE) Back to School

With a new school year in full swing, I invited my friend, neighbor and The Better Mom contributor, Nikki McCullough, to share some ways to help us moms get through this hectic season. -XO, Ruth

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Change. It is among us. Evenings are turning colder. Mornings seem more still. The birds’ songs have lessened, and the sounds of cicadas chirping are mostly what we hear. These are all signs of three words that I have never really liked…BACK TO SCHOOL. You would think that now I am an adult, it wouldn’t affect me so greatly. But there’s something about the busyness that comes with back to school that I always cringe over.

But I think there are some ways we can roll with this change and find joy in the change of seasons and the change of pace that is coming our way. 

1. Figure out your new routine and stick with it. Summer has brought with it a lot of bad habits for me. One of those is sleeping in. The first week of summer break, I justified the extra sleep as a reward for all that we accomplished throughout the school year. And then the first week turned into the second. And then the third. And, well…now we have one more week of summer vacation left. I was still able to fit my alone time in every morning, because let’s face it. Sleeping in for a mom is NOT the same thing as sleeping in for teenagers! But it still threw me off. There were days my alone time with God happened in the afternoon after trying to catch up in the morning. And I’m not saying this is a bad thing. Any time you can spend with the Lord is a GOOD thing. But for me, my day needs to start with this! I’m actually looking forward to those early mornings again! (even though it will be dark and feel like the middle of the night at first.)

2. Plan ahead. For some of us, those two words bring relief and joy. And for others, the thought of trying to plan out an entire week or two is just too much. But start small!  If you have your dinners planned out for the next week and the groceries already bought, it will save you so much time and energy! This is also an area I have slacked in this summer. And making a trip to the grocery store every two days is NOT my idea of fun. But if you have everything you need for the week already, think of how much time you will save! Also, try and have fun with it! Last October, a friend and I planned out a monthly calendar and we called it “Croctoberfest”. Yes, we are a little dorky.  But we had fun with it!  And using the Crockpot made it even easier for us to survive back to school!

3. Keep your family healthy! Back to school means back to germs! Summer usually means plenty of Vitamin D and lots of fresh fruits and veggies around. But with the season changing, it starts to take more of an effort to keep our immune systems up. Of course, we use our Young Living oils to combat all of this. From Thieves essential oil in our diffusers and on the bottoms of our feet to drinking 2 ounces of Ningxia Red daily to keep our immune systems thriving, we don’t just SURVIVE the Fall changes, but we THRIVE!  If you want to learn more, click here!

As we enter into the new season, don’t forget that you are not alone!  He will be carrying you through those weeks that you can’t take another step, teach another class, or make another trip to the soccer field.  He carries us and sustains us.  So rest in that peace and enjoy the changing moments of every season!

Blessings,

Nikki