Back-to-school isn't just a new season for our kids. It can be a new season for us, too.
As the backpacks get packed, routines return, and our calendars begin filling up again, it's tempting to immediately use any newfound space to get more done. Start the workout routine. Organize the house. Get back on track. Finally tackle the project we've been putting off.
But before we fill the space, what if we stopped long enough to ask a different question:
Lord, what are You inviting me into in this season?
In the first episode of this three-part Back-to-School series, we're shifting the focus from fixing and accomplishing to noticing and tending. We'll talk about the unique transitions of middle motherhood, why our kids' changing seasons often reveal changes happening within us, and why wanting something more or different doesn't mean we're ungrateful for the life God has already given us.
We'll also walk through a simple whole-person check-in—body, mind and emotions, soul, relationships, and purpose—to help you recognize what may need your attention in this season.
In this episode, we'll explore:
🎒 Why back-to-school can be a transition for Mom, too ✏️ The tension between gratitude and a desire for growth 🖍️ Why we don't need to rush to fill newfound space 🖇️ The difference between fixing yourself and tending yourself 📖 How to take inventory of your whole-person wellness
Before you make the goals, buy the planner, or decide this is finally the year you're going to get everything together, give yourself permission to simply notice.
Where are you right now? What needs tending? What's already in your basket? And where might God be inviting you next?
Because sometimes, before God asks us for our yes, He first asks us to pay attention.
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The backpacks are packed.
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The school supplies have been labeled.
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The calendars are filling up again.
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And depending on where you are in the back-to-school transition,
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you may be feeling relieved, excited, sad—or maybe a little bit of
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all three.
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But here’s something I’ve been thinking about: our kids aren’t the only
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ones beginning a new season.
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Every year, back-to-school marks another step forward for them.
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Another grade.
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Another teacher.
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Another year older.
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But what if it also marks something for us?
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What if, instead of rushing to fill the space that summer leaves
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behind, we stopped long enough to ask, “Lord,
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what are You doing in me in this season?” Because maybe this
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back-to-school season isn’t an invitation to get more done.
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Maybe it’s an invitation to notice who you’re becoming.
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Welcome back to the Nourished to Bloom podcast,
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where we talk about what it looks like to pursue whole-person wellness—mind,
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body, and soul—with Christ at the center of it all.
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Today, we’re kicking off a new three-part back-to-school series.
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But this isn’t really a series about getting your kids back to
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school.
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We’re not talking about lunchbox hacks, morning routines,
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or how to survive the carpool line.
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This series is about you.
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There’s something about the beginning of a school year that naturally feels
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like a reset.
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Honestly, I think September can feel more like the new year than
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January does.
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There’s new energy, new schedules, fresh notebooks, and a little more structure.
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For many of us—especially those of us in these middle motherhood years—there’s
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suddenly a little more space than we’ve had all summer.
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And we immediately know what to do with that space, don’t we?
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Fill it.
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All summer long, we’ve been making mental lists.
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When the kids go back to school, I’m going to get back
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into a workout routine.
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When the kids go back, I’m finally going to organize that closet.
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I’ll start eating better.
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I’ll get caught up on work.
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I’ll volunteer for that thing.
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I’ll finally schedule all those appointments.
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I’ll start the Bible study.
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I’ll clean out the pantry.
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I’ll work on that project.
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I’ll get my life together.
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Apparently, our children going back to school is the magical moment when
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we become entirely new women.
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But before we do any of that, I want to invite us
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to do something that may actually be harder.
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Don’t fill the space yet.
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Before we ask, “What am I going to do this year?” I
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want us to ask, “Who am I becoming in this season?” And
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maybe even more importantly, “Who is God inviting me to become?” I
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remember when my daughter started middle school.
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There was something about that transition that hit differently.
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Obviously, it was a big transition for her.
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New school.
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New expectations.
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More independence.
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All the emotions that come with entering those middle school years.
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But what I didn’t expect was how much her transition would make
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me think about my own.
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That’s one of the strange things about motherhood.
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Our children’s milestones become markers in our own lives.
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When they start kindergarten, something changes for us.
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When the youngest goes to school, something changes.
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When they don’t need us to walk them into the classroom anymore,
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something changes.
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When they can make their own breakfast.
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When they don’t need help tying their shoes.
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When they stop asking us to play with them every five minutes.
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When they start having practices, activities, friendships, and lives that exist more
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and more outside of us.
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They’re growing.
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And so are we.
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But we spend so much time helping them navigate their transitions that
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sometimes we forget to acknowledge our own—especially in middle motherhood.
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There are years of motherhood when our physical presence is required almost
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constantly.
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Someone needs to be fed.
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Someone needs a diaper changed.
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Someone needs to nap.
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Someone needs to be held.
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Someone needs help with literally everything.
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Then, gradually, almost without realizing it, that changes.
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They still need us—absolutely.
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Sometimes I think older kids need us in even more complicated ways.
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But they need us differently.
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And that shift can create something we haven’t had in a long
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time: space.
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Space can be wonderful.
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But space can also be uncomfortable.
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Once things get a little quieter, we can start hearing questions that
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were easier to ignore when life was really loud.
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Questions like: Who am I now?
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What do I enjoy?
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What do I want?
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What’s important to me?
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What gifts have I put aside?
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Is there something God is asking me to do?
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Is this really how I want to spend my time?
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What do I need in this season?
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And sometimes, just having those questions makes us feel guilty.
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I think a lot of women find themselves in this strange place
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where we’re caught somewhere between gratitude and guilt.
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We’re grateful.
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We love our families.
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We recognize the blessings God has given us.
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And yet, there’s this little stirring.
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Maybe you want to take better care of yourself.
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Maybe there’s something creative you’ve wanted to do.
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Maybe you want deeper friendships.
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Maybe you’ve been thinking about going back to work or changing the
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work you’re doing.
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Maybe you want to become more involved in your parish.
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Maybe there’s a dream you’ve pushed aside for years.
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Maybe you don’t even know what you want.
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You just know something feels like it’s changing.
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And immediately, we can think: I should just be grateful.
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My life is good.
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Why do I need anything else?
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Shouldn’t my family be enough?
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I think we have to be careful here,
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because gratitude and desire are not opposites.
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We can be deeply grateful for the life God has given us
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while also remaining open to the ways He’s continuing to form us.
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You aren’t finished becoming because your children were born.
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God’s work in your life didn’t stop when you became a mom.
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Motherhood is an incredibly important part of our vocation and formation.
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But God is still forming you within it.
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There may be new gifts He wants to develop,
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new places He wants to stretch you, new ways He wants you
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to serve, and new things He wants you to learn.
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Or maybe this isn’t a season of adding anything at all.
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Maybe He’s inviting you to rest.
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To heal.
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To receive.
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To simplify.
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To reconnect.
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That’s why we don’t want to rush ahead.
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We have to notice first.
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Ecclesiastes tells us, “For everything there is a season,
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and a time for every matter under heaven.” I think we know
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this intellectually, but sometimes we still expect every season of our lives
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to look the same.
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We look at another woman and think, “She’s doing that.
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Why am I not doing that?” Or we look backward.
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I used to be so good at this.
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I used to exercise five days a week.
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I used to volunteer more.
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I used to have more energy.
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I used to spend more time in prayer.
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I used to be more social.
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Or we look forward.
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When the kids are older, then I’ll… But what if,
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instead of comparing this season to another woman’s season—or even another version
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of our own—we simply asked, “What does faithfulness look like here?” Not
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five years ago.
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Not five years from now.
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Not for the woman you follow online.
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Here.
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Today.
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In the actual life God has given you.
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There are seasons when God asks us to plant,
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seasons when He asks us to grow, seasons when He asks us
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to prune, seasons when He asks us to produce,
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and seasons when the ground looks pretty quiet from the outside but
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something important is happening underneath.
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We don’t need to force fruit in every season.
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We need to stay close enough to God to recognize what season
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we’re actually in.
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I think this is particularly important when we’re talking about wellness,
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because back-to-school can very quickly become another self-improvement project.
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Time to lose the summer weight.
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Time to get disciplined.
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Time to get back on track.
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Time to fix my eating.
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Fix my schedule.
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Fix my prayer life.
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Fix my house.
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Fix my productivity.
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Fix myself.
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But what if we changed the language?
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What if, instead of asking, “What do I need to fix?” we
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asked, “What needs tending?” I love that word:
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tending.
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When we tend something, we’re not assuming it’s broken.
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Think about a garden.
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You don’t stand over a plant yelling at it because it hasn’t
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grown fast enough—at least, I hope you don’t.
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You pay attention.
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Does it need water?
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Does it need sunlight?
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Does something need to be pruned?
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Does the soil need nourishment?
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Does it need support?
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Or does it simply need time?
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What if we approached ourselves with that same curiosity?
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Not, “What’s wrong with me?” But, “What needs my attention right now?”
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I want to give you a little exercise this week,
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and you don’t need to make it complicated.
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Grab your journal, the Notes app on your phone, or whatever works.
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I want you to look at five areas of your life.
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First, your body.
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How am I feeling physically?
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Am I rested?
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Am I nourished?
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Do I have energy?
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Have I been moving my body in ways that feel good?
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Have I been ignoring signals my body has been sending me?
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Again, not, “How do I fix my body?” What does my body
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need from me in this season?
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Next, your mind and emotions.
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What’s been taking up most of my headspace?
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What am I worrying about?
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What am I carrying?
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Where do I feel overwhelmed?
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Where do I feel peaceful?
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What thoughts keep repeating themselves?
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What emotions have I maybe been too busy to acknowledge?
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Next, your soul.
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How connected do I feel to God right now?
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Not, “Am I praying enough?” Not, “Am I being a good enough
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Catholic?” But, “How is my relationship with God?” Where have I noticed
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Him lately?
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Where do I feel distant?
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What am I longing for spiritually?
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What might He be trying to say that I haven’t had enough
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quiet to hear?
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Next, your relationships.
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Where do I feel connected?
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Where do I feel lonely?
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How is my marriage?
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How are my friendships?
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How am I relating to my children?
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Is there a relationship that needs more attention?
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Is there a relationship where I need a boundary?
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Who helps me become more of who God created me to be?
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Finally, your purpose.
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What’s stirring?
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This doesn’t have to mean your career.
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It doesn’t have to mean starting a ministry,
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launching a business, or discovering your giant God-given purpose.
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Maybe there’s simply something you keep thinking about.
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Something you’re curious about.
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Something that makes you come alive.
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A person you feel drawn to serve.
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A gift you haven’t used in a while.
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Something you’d like to learn.
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A dream you keep dismissing.
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Or maybe nothing is stirring right now.
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That’s information, too.
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You don’t have to manufacture an answer.
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We’re simply noticing.
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And here’s the most important part of this exercise:
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don’t immediately turn your answers into goals.
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I know.
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Some of you are going to hate this.
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Because if you write, “I’m exhausted,” your brain immediately wants to say,
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“Okay.
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Go to bed by 9:30 every night.” If you write,
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“I feel disconnected from God,” the answer becomes,
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“Wake up at 5:30 and pray for thirty minutes.” If you write,
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“I miss being creative,” the answer becomes, “Sign up for the class.”
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Not yet.
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For now, we’re just gathering information.
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We’re creating awareness.
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We’re making room for God.
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Because awareness gives us the opportunity for discernment, and discernment needs space.
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There’s another question I want you to carry with you this week,
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and it comes from a story we’ve talked about before on this
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podcast: the feeding of the five thousand.
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When the disciples saw the enormous need in front of them,
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they immediately focused on what they didn’t have.
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There are thousands of people.
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We don’t have enough food.
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We don’t have enough money.
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We can’t possibly solve this.
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And Jesus brings their attention back to what is available.
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What’s here?
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What’s already been given?
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I think that’s such a beautiful question for us entering a new
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season.
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Before we start deciding everything we need to change,
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acquire, accomplish, or become, ask: What’s already in your basket?
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What gifts has God already given you?
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What relationships?
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What resources?
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What experience?
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What desires?
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What opportunities?
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And yes, what limitations?
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Because those matter, too.
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Your actual life isn’t an obstacle to God’s plan for you.
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It’s the place where His invitation is happening.
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Maybe back-to-school doesn’t need to be our annual invitation to get our
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lives together.
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Maybe it can be something much gentler and much more meaningful:
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an invitation to notice.
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Your children are entering a new year.
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They’re growing.
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They’re changing.
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They’re becoming.
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And so are you.
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Before you fill every empty square on the calendar,
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before you sign up, before you set the goal,
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before you buy the planner, and before you decide that this is
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finally the year you’re going to get everything together,
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give yourself permission to notice.
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Where am I right now?
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What needs tending?
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What’s already in my basket?
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And, Lord, what are You inviting me into in this season?
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You don’t have to have the answer today.
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In fact, maybe the most faithful thing you can do this week
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is simply make enough room to hear the question.
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Next week, we’re going to take what we’ve noticed and talk about
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what comes next.
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We’re going to talk about goals—but probably not in the way you
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expect.
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We’ll look at the difference between the goals we think we should
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pursue and the desires God may actually be placing on our hearts.
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We’ll ask: Is this a should goal or a soul goal?
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And how do we tell the difference?
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Until then, spend a little time noticing.
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Not judging.
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Not fixing.
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Not planning.
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Just noticing.
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Because sometimes, before God asks us for our yes,
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He first asks us to pay attention.
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And remember: beauty held is the seed, beauty shared is the flower.
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It’s your time to bloom.