I don't know what your summer has been like, but mine has been busy with unpredictable schedules and people being all different kinds of places. So as we look ahead to this year's school season beginning (and it already has for many people), the phrase "back to normal" is what comes to mind because September-early June are the months of the year that people live more scheduled, predictable lives, and if you do something for almost 9 months out of the year that sounds pretty "normal" to me. Although if it's "normal" for you to spend weeks of the summer at the beach house or mountain cabin, that's "normal" too.
There's a lot to be said for getting back to normal. It's a challenge initially because you're very sure that you have to be certain places or do certain things that have been part of your "abnormal" routine, and yet because you're back to "normal," you don't have to do those things. That change gives you a really good understanding of exactly what you've been missing in your normal vs abnormal seasons of life and makes you think about changes you might make. So yes, it's nice to know that the kids are in school or what your work hours are and expect that to all be very predictable. You know I greatly value consistency when it comes to many things. But it's not so nice to know that the traffic will be back when you're out driving or that you have to plan your travels around town to avoid getting stuck behind school busses, or to face the struggles of homework and after school transportation schedules.
Is it good to take a break from "normal" every so often? Yes, definitely because it can give you a different, fresh perspective on life and reveal habits that you've maybe gotten sucked into or opportunities that you might have missed otherwise. But at the same time, normal exists for a reason: we need a lot of time for education as kids, work schedules help make sure that everyone connects when they need to, as seasons change you're often limited to what you can do, and quite honestly most of us benefit more from having a regular life than living a more nomadic, free and flexible one. Maybe the thing I notice right now in getting "back to normal" is how nice some of normal life is, and why it's part of my/our normal to begin with, even if I also appreciated many of the "abnormal" things as well (especially those that I can't bring to the normal season like less traffic because people are on vacation). What parts of your normal life do you appreciate the most?
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