Nobody warns you that one of the biggest lessons of your forties is learning how to let go, through dozens of small endings that all seem to arrive at once.
Last week, my daughter took another step away from childhood and into young adulthood. My son finished primary school, performed in his final Year 6 production and headed off on his residential trip.
The familiar routines that have shaped our family for the past year disappeared almost overnight as the summer holidays begin.
Watching my children move so naturally into the next chapter of their lives made me realise something unexpected.
Life was inviting me to do the same. To release the version of myself that had served me well… but wasn’t meant to come with me into this next season.
As parents, we celebrate our children’s growth, but as business owners and leaders, we often resist our own. We hold onto identities that once protected us and cling to routines because they’re familiar. We convince ourselves that if we plan enough, work enough and stay in control, everything will be okay.
But control is often an illusion. Nature has understood this all along. Trees don’t mourn every leaf they lose. They trust the seasons. Flowers don’t bloom all year and Winter doesn’t apologise for resting.
Each season honours its purpose without comparing itself to the next. So why do we expect ourselves to live in a constant season of striving?
Perhaps summer is an invitation to loosen our grip and spend less time managing every detail and more time noticing the people sitting right in front of us.
I’m choosing to let go this summer of old expectations, behaviours and stories about who I need to be. Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is trust ourselves enough to let something go.
What are you carrying into this next season that no longer belongs there?
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