It’s the first day of September, and in this household, the last day of the summer holidays. Tomorrow, Izzy begins a new chapter at secondary school and on Monday, Jesse will follow suit, moving up to the big, scary junior school all by himself.

This year, as the leaves begin to turn, we’re facing even bigger changes at home. Right now, my emotions are a heady mix of nerves, excitement and trepidation.

While many bloggers seem to relish the onset of autumn, I am somewhat less enamoured. Summer is my season and I’m just not ready to let it go. Looking back, the six-week break already feels like a line in the sand, the division between our old life with its familiar, safe routine and a new era full of uncertainty.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll need to make peace with the fact summer is done. I’ll conjure up big plans for the winter months, figure out how I’m going to survive this year’s bout of SAD and do my best to focus on the positives.

But right now, all I can think about is the memories we’ve made and the things I’m going to miss about summer…

• Slow Mornings

The absence of the school run changes the pace of family life quite dramatically. The first few hours of the day become less frenetic and more relaxed.

During the holidays, I still rely on my 6am alarm, but I don’t wake with any sense of urgency. There’s enough time to snuggle with the children beneath the duvet and five more minutes to daydream while I sip my mug of tea.

• Daylight

Speaking as someone who is almost certainly solar-powered, the abundance of daylight during summer brings me nothing but joy. I love waking up in a sunlit bedroom and I wish the light, bright long summer evenings could last forever.

• Summer Fruit and Veg

There’s plenty of food to look forward to in autumn and much of it will be a source of comfort in the coming months, but nothing excites me quite like the flavours and textures of summer cooking.

From bright red cherries, succulent peaches and juicy nectarines to vibrant green beans, ripe tomatoes and countless courgettes, summer fare will always be my favourite.

• Endless Reasons to Eat Homemade Ice-Cream and Frozen Yogurt

While there’s nothing to stop me firing up the old ice-cream maker in the depths of December, we obviously eat more of the stuff when the sun is shining. A simple blend of natural yogurt, pureed tin peaches and runny honey has been my favourite flavour combination this year.

• Summer Sandals and a Perfect Pedicure

I live in my Lotta From Stockholm clogs during the warmer months and I miss them the minute I’m forced to pull on a pair of boots. They’ll work with tights for a while, but I rarely feel prettier than when I’m sporting suntanned toes painted a perfect shade of red.

• Picnics and Playing Outside

Even the wettest summers seem to feature plenty of picnics and playing outside, or at least they do when you have small children who couldn’t care less about the weather.

I enjoy the simplicity {and the affordability} of packing up some food and finding a good spot to spend an afternoon. I like it best when the children disappear for hours at a time to make friends, climb trees and build dens.

• Beach Days

If you’ve read any of my travel posts {here, here, here and here}, you’ll know how much we love a good day out at a British beach. This summer, we spent a week in Cornwall and took our beach days to another level with surf lessons and plenty of body boarding.

As a family, we’re not adverse to autumn walks along windswept beaches, but there’s nothing quite like sun, sand and plenty of vitamin sea.

• Summer Rain

Yes, really. You can’t think about summer in England and ignore the ever-present threat of torrential rain. In moderation, I think there’s something quite special about the odd downpour on an otherwise sunny day.

Often, we’re all willing the humidity to break and we’re glad when the earth dutifully responds. The air can feel almost electric before it begins, as if something magical is about to happen. I like the way storms roll in, painting away blue skies with an expanse of mottled grey cloud. I love the scent of cool rain on warm concrete in the city and the luscious, fresh fragrance it produces when you’re in the countryside.

Summer rain makes us problem solvers and forces us to be prepared. For example, one of my favourite days out while we were in Cornwall only came about because the weather wasn’t on our side. If the sun had been shining, we would have never ventured into Falmouth’s National Maritime Museum and we would have missed out on some great memories.

• Heaps of Creativity

For me, ideas and inspiration flow freely when the sun is shining. I feel more creative and more motivated to work when it’s warm. My drive doesn’t vanish completely with the changing of the seasons, but I definitely have to push myself a lot harder.

• Good Mental Health

The winter blues hit me hard almost every year and I have to be incredibly proactive about keeping my head happy once summer has been and gone.

Masses of self-care and a good dose of Danish hygge is usually all I need, but thinking about the way the world will wake up in spring is bound to help me through.

• Is summer your season or are you looking forward to autumn? What will you miss about May, June, July and August?

Love Audrey xxx