When Did September Become The New January?
Even if you are not a school teacher or student, September can hit you like the coldest Ice Bucket Challenge ever. Suddenly, after so much leniency, there are just way too many expectations. Every community and organization that you belong to is back to its speedy routine after three leisurely months. And if you have kids, you are juggling new Back to School routines, curriculum nights, mountains of paperwork to complete (again? Don’t they have this?). And of course, work goes into full throttle since the vacation season is over. Buh-bye Summer Fridays. You go from zero to 100 MPH between Labor Day Monday and that next Tuesday morning. Whoa.
September has always been a “New Year” kind of time. In the Jewish faith, it truly is the New Year. It’s the New Year for schools and colleges. It marks the end of summer vacation time and the beginning of “ordinary time.” But I feel like there is a new pressure out there to make it very much like January, the most stoic and regimented months of all. Every magazine cover I see is touting tips for organizing, cleaning, and financial planning. It’s just so January.
You know how Halloween decorations seem to come out earlier every year. And don’t even get me started on Christmas. Well, it’s the same thing with the January-Organizing thing. Someone decided that September would be a great time for everyone to hole up in their houses, declutter and organize things into bins. By the way, I’m a huge Marie Kondo fan and I’m a famous de-clutterer. Just not in September. That is for the cold, dark months of January, February & March.
So, how do you tackle the onslaught of all these routines and expectations that come barreling at you when just a few weeks ago you were relaxing poolside with your book?
1. Get organized
2. Recommit to your own health & fitness goals
3. Recommit to packing healthy lunches
4. Build your repertoire of easy, healthy weeknight meals. Make extra for leftover (lunches!)
5. Find a little weekend in your week. Or in your weekend.
1. Get Organized
There’s no getting around it. You really need to spend some time getting organized at this time of year, especially if you have kids (no matter what their age). Here are a few things we do that seem to make things run more smoothly:
A. Have a weekly meeting with your spouse/partner. We would be one hot mess if we didn’t do this. It’s probably especially critical for us because we are a two-income, true partner couple. I travel for work and we really need to review the upcoming week to see what’s going on, who needs to be where, and what support is needed. We typically have our “meeting” on Saturday morning, after working out and while the kids are skill at sports practice.
B. Have a family meeting. This is the same kind of meeting that you have with your spouse/partner, but now you bring the kids in. We have teenagers, so we typically do this on Thursday night so that we can understand what is happening for the upcoming weekend. Your weekend can really end up being all about running kids from here to there. Or it can be well-planned, with some time for you built in. It’s all about the planning. No matter what age your children are.
C. Find an app that works for you. We use Cozi for the family calendar, shopping lists and To Do lists.
2. So, now that everyone is organized, it’s time to focus on your own health and fitness goals. What didn’t you get to do over the summer that maybe you wanted to do? For me it was “More Yoga!” I was going strong through July, but then August came and I became more intent on getting to the beach than getting to yoga class on weekends. That’s fair. I mean, you can take yoga in January. But you can’t go to the beach then. Am I right?
3. Recommit to packing healthy lunches. Whether you are packing lunch for you or for the kids, now is a great time to make it healthier. Also, start having your kids help pack their own lunch (with help at first). It’s a great way for them to learn independence, healthy food choices – and it gives you a break.
4. Build your library of easy, healthy weeknight meals. School-night, weeknights can be insane. Between sports and curriculum nights, it’s sometimes impossible for everyone to sit down together for a healthy dinner. Every time I drive by the Wendy’s take out line, which seems to wrap around the perimeter of Mansfield, I smugly (ok, I’m a little smug about it) think, “well, at least I’m not doing THAT.” We definitely have a little library of weeknight meals that we know we can make quickly (or ahead in the slow-cooker) that keep us nourished and more importantly, out of the take-out line. Lately, we have been doing a lot of bowls. Teenagers seem to like bowls. I also re-discovered my wok, a wedding gift from one of my favorite aunts. This Shrimp-Scallop-Vegetable stir fry is full of healthy vegetables, it’s got a little spice, and it makes great leftovers.
Plan your “you” time. What didn’t you get to do over the summer that you wanted to do?
Change your language from “I have to” to “I get to”
Put a little weekend in your week.
Easy weeknight dinners – with lots of vegetables – and leftovers