Hello friends! I hope you’ve all been well. I can’t believe it’s the middle of September.

September has always been a special month for me. Long after I left school and university, it’s always been a month of reset, a return to routine, and slightly cooler weather. As a self-professed lover of school, September has always reminded me of going back to school and getting back into a routine, even when I wasn’t a student anymore.

But this year, September was even more special since it was my daughter’s turn to go to school! She started junior kindergarten and had been ready for so long. The pandemic stole most opportunities for making friends and being social, so she was extra excited.

I had been dreaming about this day for so long, sometimes with longing and sometimes with dread. Maybe because of the pandemic, we hadn’t been apart for long for the past 4 years. She has been my constant shadow since she was born and I was both excited and scared for her to go off in the big wide world. But in my heart, of course I knew she was ready. She had been asking to go to school for the past 2 years and I knew how much she was going to love it. I prayed schools stayed open and the covid numbers stayed low enough for her to enjoy it.

I definitely cried after I dropped her off. My home and my heart felt so empty. But there is joy and sweetness in reuniting and getting those extra tight hugs and kisses at the end of the day.

There have been so many changes lately. The main one being that we moved! We were in Hamilton for 2 years but recently moved to Waterloo; right before my daughter started school. It was such a crazy summer trying to pack up and get the new place ready, all before school! It was my goal for my daughter to start at her new school instead of switching after a week or two so it was a mad dash.

We’re all unpacked. But I still don’t feel settled in yet; there’s always so much to be done! It’s been hard to be properly settled in too since our appliances were delayed; our stove just came 2 days ago and our dishwasher is still not hooked up.

I also joined Humber’s school for writers and am taking a creative writing course! I’ve been dreaming about this course ever since I took my Creative Book Publishing Course years ago, and now that my daughter is in school, I finally did it. I’ll be spending the year writing a book and getting feedback from my mentor. I’m so excited to be doing this and to have this dedicated time to writing.

I haven’t done much writing yet, since my routine is so out of whack. But my goal is to get into routine next week (InshAllah!!) and get writing. My fingers are itching to get started.

So lots of new things to look forward to. It’s definitely been an exciting time around here! How was your summer? Do you crave routine or are you more a go with the flow type?

Thanks for reading,

Ikhlas