Fail to plan, and you plan to fail

Or something like that. So...my writing schedule was really marvelous last year. I think I finally mastered a work schedule that, well, worked! I was smoking, productive and still managed to pick the kids up from school and make dinner. Then came summer. Fabulous, fun, amazing, snuggly, fall more deeply in love with your kids summer. And my writing? Well, it became sort of an afterthought. Not that I did nothing. Because I feel so inspired at the cottage, I began some really great projects. But my routine was terrible.

So this week, the kiddos return to school. Girls go back Monday, boys go back Wednesday, and there are NO more excuses. My schedule must resume. I need to get productive and organized right away. I need to get some magazine subs out there that have been complete and trapped in my zip drive, just begging for release. I need to revise the YA novel that I've carried around all summer with a brand new, unopened pack of highlighters. I need to resume the discipline of my blog.

And isn't that how we all feel in fall? When the smell of newly sharpened pencils fills the air, don't you all crave a good schedule? A fresh routine? Maybe it's from all those years of getting your school schedule in the fall. Yes! PE last period of the day. That's WAY better than last year. And Mrs. Poole for English. I've been waiting to have her for years. And so on. Something about a NEW schedule implies better, more improved, closer to the goal of a graduation of sorts. A lot of people make news year's resolutions, but I would bet that as many people, if not more, make new commitments in the fall. The cultural 'back to school' season so ingrained in us that we can't resist. When the school buses start rolling, I actually CRAVe that tangy, newly sharpened pencil smell. The scent of sharpies marking all those school supplies. The ultra-heavy backpack, full of new books, actually feels RIGHT for a few days in August.

Enjoy your back to school season. Whether you have kids or not, treat yourself to a few new school supplies and a change in your schedule. Maybe, just maybe, your bff will be in all your classes this year.