May this season of trading
sunscreen and sandals
for backpacks and pencils
usher in familiar rhythms.

May you be gentle with yourself
for summer days that didn’t go as planned,
for more screen time than expected,
or for when the sameness of being home
overlapped into weeks now blurry.

May the highs and lows of summer
settle into gratitude for what was
and fill you with welcome for what is ahead.