The summer is winding down, and for most of us, it went way too quickly. The long days don’t seem long enough with all of the running around we tend to do.

For those of you with children, congratulations! You survived another summer balancing jobs and being full-time chauffeurs and playmates. I’m sure you are ready for school to start back too.

From trips to the beach to sports camps and finding any place possible to go swimming, summer is always full of fun.

Of course, this summer has also been full of rain and stormy days that were great for staying indoors and watching movies or doing crafts.

The beginning of the school year tends to be a bittersweet time for a lot of families. It marks the start of new eras in some families as children move to middle or high school and the end of others as high school graduates leave the nest to head to college or into the workforce.

Parents are forced to look at how much their children have grown in the last year and prepare themselves for what comes next.

Whether you have children who are no longer children, but have grown into independent adults, or babies who are just entering school, leaving you alone in a quiet house for the first time in years, life is a never-ending cycle of change.

As the summer ends and school approaches, we look back on the last three months grateful for the memories we made with family and friends and foward to what this next school year will bring.

Make this year a great one!