Learning to Love Life’s In-Betweens: Finding Your Groove in Everyday Transitions
The escalator near the Raleigh sign at the airport always makes me smile
Back-to-school season always feels like hopping onto an escalator at the airport. You barely blink and then need to move again. Backpacks flying, papers to review, snack bags packed, then bam - you’re at the top and need to walk fast to get off full steam ahead. It doesn’t just stop there. The after-school shuffle of homework, activities, clubs, and sports sets in. Before you know it, you’re living life entirely in the “in-betweens.”
But here’s the secret: those in-between moments are where life actually happens. They’re not just short transition times. The escalator isn’t only used to move from A to B, but instead helps lift you up.
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For moms, the day often feels chopped into a hundred pieces: morning routine (that inevitably gets thrown off track), school drop-off, 20 minutes of quiet before work, running errands at lunch, waiting outside dance class, or squeezing in dinner between soccer practice and bedtime routines.
Instead of wishing those minutes away (or scrolling IG until your thumb hurts), what if you leaned into them?
The carpool lane becomes your mini-podcast university or reading time.
Ten minutes in the parking lot becomes the perfect time to do a meditation or jot a quick gratitude note.
That weird gap before practice? Car snack and story time about the day.
It doesn’t have to be big—it just has to fit what works best for you.
Back-to-school isn’t just about the schedule—it’s a shift in seasons. Summer was wild and free, and now routines are creeping back in. These transitions can feel wobbly, like learning to dance again after a long break.
But here’s the good news: the groove comes back before you know it. Instead of resisting the awkward start, embrace it. Let the first few weeks of back-to-school be your practice. Give yourself permission to stumble through the routine, experiment with what works, and laugh at the missteps (because let’s be honest, those can and will happen).
The key is to treat this in-between season not as something to get through, but as part of the routine itself.
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Life isn’t just the big moments—first days of school, shows, big games, holidays. It’s also the quiet moments, the messy middles, and the everyday transitions. These in-betweens are where connection sneaks in, where you recharge, and where your kids will probably remember the silly car snacks more than the actual soccer drills.
The more we stop trying to rush through the transition, the more we actually enjoy it.
Coaching Question:
Got five minutes in the carpool lane? Instead of doom-scrolling, ask yourself: What if this time isn’t wasted at all? How could this in-between be a little recharge station instead of a throwaway moment?
So here’s your permission slip: embrace the messy middle. Whether you’re parked in the carpool lane or trying to settle into a new back-to-school routine, remember that life happens here too.
Because maybe the in-between isn’t just the space between the moments—it is the moment.
Until next time, enjoy the journey!
Copyright Me Time 4 Mom, LLC
