Plot Twist: The Coach Needs Coaching

I Thought September Would Feel Like a Fresh Start…

Six weeks.

Six lovely, chaotic, noisy, expensive, exhausting weeks.

And genuinely? I had the best time.

I made a conscious decision to step back from work over the summer holidays and be with my children. We went places. We made memories. We had slow mornings and ridiculously busy days. We laughed. We probably spent too much money. We completely lost track of what day of the week it was.

And then September arrived.

Back to school. Back to work. Back to routine.

Welcome back, everyone!

Except we are one week in and I already feel like I'm drowning.

Anyone else?

Because I feel like September is sold to us as this wonderful reset. New school shoes. New pencil cases. Fresh diaries. Back to routine. Back to normality. But nobody really talks about how much adjustment is squeezed into those first few weeks.

Everyone in my house is finding their feet. New teachers. New classrooms. New expectations. New routines. New clubs. New timings.

And then there's me, trying to remember where everybody needs to be, what they need to take with them and apparently attempting to emotionally support the entire household through the transition while also casually returning to work and pretending my brain hasn't been in summer-holiday mode for six weeks.

This year feels particularly big. I have one child going into Year 6 and another starting Reception. One approaching the end of primary school and everything that comes with preparing for secondary school. Another standing right at the beginning.

And suddenly I feel this enormous responsibility to make sure everyone is ok.

• I want them to thrive.

• I want them to feel confident.

• I want to notice if somebody is struggling.

• I want to give them the right opportunities.

• I want to help without interfering.

• Push without pressuring.

• Support without smothering.

• Listen without immediately trying to fix everything.

And somewhere amongst all of that, I'm supposed to remember that I'm a person too.

• I'm back at work.

• I have goals.

• I have a business.

• I have a relationship.

• I have a body I'd quite like to look after.

• I have friends I'd quite like to see.

And occasionally I'd quite like to sit down without remembering something I was supposed to have done three days ago.

The funny thing is, this is exactly what I coach people through.

Transition.

That slightly uncomfortable bit between what life looked like before and what the new version is going to look like.

And yet here I am, right in the middle of one myself. Maybe the answer isn't to have everything sorted by week one. Maybe everyone is allowed to find their feet. Including me.

Maybe September doesn't need to be about immediately creating the perfect routine. Maybe these first few weeks are about noticing what works, what doesn't, who needs a little more support and what we can stop putting pressure on ourselves to get right immediately.

Because there are five weeks until October half term. Five weeks. That feels manageable.

So that's my current goal. Not to nail the entire academic year. Not to have everyone thriving by Friday.

Not to become the perfectly organised working mum with a pristine house, successful business, thriving children and an empty washing basket.

Just get us to half term.

Happy. Healthy. Connected. Mostly where we're supposed to be, roughly when we're supposed to be there. And hopefully with the correct PE kits.

So, welcome back.

If you're also one week into September wondering how you're already exhausted, you are very much not alone.

We are all finding our feet.

• The children are.

• The teachers are.

• The parents are.

• And apparently the coaches are too.

So my only question is...

Who's coaching me through the next five weeks until October half term?