Instead of falling into Fall this year, what would it feel like if we eased into it?

We’re so reluctant to let  go of summertime weather, its different pace and shorter (or no) to do lists, that we hang on as long as we can. Sure, we had times during the summer when we wished for more structure … especially when the kids or grandkids asked “what can I do today?” for what seemed like the nine hundredth time. Our creativity wore out at some point and – dare I write it – we longed for different times.

So we hang on to that summertime feeling. Whatever it was to you, it’s waning. Oh, you’re mad at me now, for even writing that, I know, I know! I can barely admit it’s almost Fall  myself !

You feel it in the air, as you hear about or take  the kids going shopping for school clothes and supplies. You feel it as you drive by cars stuffed with the new college freshman’s world. You remember your school and college years as all this happens.

This all reminds me of returning home after a vacation.

Some people will arrive home and quickly get the house back in order because that’s how they need to transition into real life. (I don’t know what else to call it, though I don’t like the phrase myself!)

Others of us delay doing the vacation laundry as long as we can, perhaps not even unpacking the suitcase as a way to retain that vacation feeling.  Trouble is, the longer we wait, the more real life takes over and eventually we feel out of control.

We still have a toe in the vacation waters and can’t quite let  go. But if we don’t get focused on this moment, the train of life keeps moving and can run us over.

We all transition differently — I’ve given a list of ideas below I hope will be useful to you, so that you ease into Fall more easily this year.

Celebrate the summer in a big way. Have a party and relive your favorite memories. Or simply a special family dinner or barbecue. The conversation focuses on best times of the summer, not what’s coming up. It’s one way to close out the old and get your mind ready for the new.

Change your schedule just a little bit at a time. I know you want to wait as long as you can, but remember what happened last year  when you jolted your body into waking up two hours earlier, or going to bed at such a different time? I’m suggesting 15-30 minutes at a time. Get used to that and then add a little more.  We can usually find 15 minutes if we look carefully enough.

Calendars and lists. If you threw your calendar/list away or simply didn’t need to look at it as often over the summer, inch it back into your view. Literally.

Start looking ahead. After you’ve taken a week or so to eventually welcome that calendar back into your life, start looking ahead. If you know you have a jazz band concert to get kids ready for at the end of September, what has to get done before the concert date arrives? Outfits, lessons, tune up, buying music, rehearsals … all these can  go  onto your calendar. Work backwards from the event date; visualize yourselves there. What led up to that date? What had to happen and by when?

Particularly when you transition from summer to Fall, it’s helpful to write down  more than you’re used to. You’re effectively retraining your brain to hold more stuff than it has over the summer, or at least different stuff.   After awhile, ease up if things go smoothly, but when you first start a habit,  watch it like a hawk. Get solid, then ease up. It’s a faster way to instill a new habit.

Get back to exercise, meditation, or me-time. Sometimes we give it up over the summer because our schedules are more flexible or not as stressful. We feel  like we don’t need it as much. If you let it lapse over the summer, getting back to it as your schedule heats up will feel good  (doing something for yourself, just for you) … and will help you manage life more easily.  If you’re a grandparent sitting for your grandchildren, keep a balance of  “babysitter” time when you play that role, with true “grandparent” time. Set some boundaries for what you need from  your time.

Don’t use “back to school” or “Labor Day weekend” as a deadline for too much. We use events to mark deadlines for projects we’d forgotten about or back-burnered. Now is not the time to paint your den, renovate or undertake other, voluntary, large projects. You already have a lot on your plate,physically and mentally. Why add more complexity, risk and chaos? Even if you thrive on chaos, does everyone else in your household? What you can do is break downthe small steps leading up the painting,  and get this done gradually.

And celebrate Fall. A favorite saying, from Alexander Graham Bell: “When one door closes, we often look so long and regretfully at it that we don’t see the door that opens before us.”  What do you like about Fall, or the return to this schedule? What new opportunities and possibilities are over the horizon do you think? What could you plan for late September, to celebrate Fall and begin looking forward to it?

So what’s one thing you can do, to ease into Fall a little more easily this year?