Backpack. Lunch. Books.
Masks. Sanitizer. Wipes.
Check, check, check.
This year is a study in contrasts. A tale of sweater weather and fresh notebooks, nerves and physical distancing. Simultaneously the same and so very different.
Since I can remember, September has been the start of the real New Year to me. Being a student for most of my life ingrained a certain sense of new beginnings once it was time to go back to school. The rare occasion when school started in August felt like a false start — September was the beginning of the real race. Even in that space between being a student and being a parent there was always something new to look forward to. Maybe it was the series premiere of a show on primetime TV or the start of an enticing fitness class. Funny how the advent of fall, when nature begins to prepare for dormancy, can create such fervour and activity!
But this isn’t an average fall season. This isn’t what I expected my September 2020 — Year of the Editor Mom — to be.
We all know the havoc the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked. There are many who have already written eloquently about what the shift to working from home has been like, even for those who did so by choice before “coronavirus” became a household name. In my corner of the universe, it meant trying to navigate a new business with two additional souls in the house full time. (I was already working with soul number three at home, but there was a master plan for his triumphant entry to school in September 2020.)
I completed my editing certificate during the pandemic. Our boys left and returned to in-person learning during the pandemic. And now, I have to learn how to navigate my new schedule during the pandemic.
Like most editors, I am a planner. I like details and look forward to solving problems. In the “before times”, I had my vision for the last third of 2020: schedules for my boys were set, my business plan was in effect, and I was working on leaning into my most productive time of day and turning myself into a morning person. I had plans to attend my first editing conference and go on the summer vacation of a lifetime. I was going to be ready to greet my first fall as a full-fledged editor with the privilege of having all of my boys in school.
Then, everything changed.
These shifts and milestones are why I’ve been away from my blog (so shiny and new in January!) until now. The realities of this year have meant less time than I envisioned on promoting my business and more time focused on staying afloat. I am supremely grateful for the work that came my way this year, not only because I’m a relatively new sole proprietor trying to make my business work, but because I am keenly aware of how quickly things can change. For those of you who trusted me with your precious thoughts and words during this tumultuous time — thank you.
Where do I go from here? I have no magic solution or any roadmap for success, but I did feel the familiar tug of a clean slate the closer September came. Maybe it’s because I was lucky to expand my editing and writing community during the summer; maybe it’s because as imperfect as it all is, my boys are happy to have the opportunity to go back to school; or maybe my mind is instinctively telling me it’s time to move forward.
Tea. Desk. Laptop.
Uncertainty. Resolve. Gratitude.
Check, check, check.
Time to reboot. Happy September New Year, everyone.