Today is the first day back to school, and every year, it always brings that mix of nerves and excitement—sharpened pencils, clean shoes, and sleepy little faces waking up just a bit earlier than they’ve had to all summer. This morning, our house was buzzing. Our oldest started 5th grade today (how?!), our middle is in 3rd, and our youngest officially joined the big kid hallway with 2nd grade. They were up before their alarms, dressed and ready, with backpacks zipped and teeth brushed. They were excited, and honestly, so were we.

Our family thrives on rhythm, and after a summer that’s been all over the place—in the best, most memory-filled ways—it feels good to be easing back into something steady. We’ve all been craving it, if we’re honest. The kids have been talking about school nonstop: wondering who their teachers would be, which friends they’d be sitting next to, what the food will be in the cafeteria this year. Their energy is contagious, and I think PJ and I were just as giddy watching them walk into the school building this morning, all three of them practically floating.

There’s something about this time of year that always feels like a reset. Fall, even before the leaves change, carries a certain kind of hopefulness. That “anything is possible” feeling. I’ve always loved it. Maybe it’s the cooler mornings or the smell of freshly opened notebooks. Maybe it’s Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail saying, “Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies.” (And yes, I absolutely do. I could spend an hour in the Target school section just picking out folders.)

Raising our kids in the same house I grew up in adds a layer of nostalgia to this season that I wasn’t prepared for when we moved in. I remember those first days of school—running down the stairs in my new school uniform, standing by the front door for a photo I was so sure was embarrassing (and now treasure), packing a lunch with more snacks than was probably necessary. Watching our kids go through those same motions in the very same rooms feels like living in a time loop, and I mean that in the best way.

And if we’re being honest: the back-to-school shift also means something pretty big for PJ and me—daylight hours to get things done. Work projects, house things, writing, filming, dreaming. There’s just more space now. More quiet moments. More uninterrupted coffee, too.

So here we are. A new school year. A new rhythm. And all of us—especially the kids—are so ready.

If you need us, we’ll be signing school agendas, helping with homework, and leaning hard into the season that always feels like a beginning.

Here we go!