There’s something bittersweet about the end of summer. Even when we’re ready for cooler mornings, familiar routines, and a little more structure, there can be a quiet sadness that comes with realizing those long, easy days are ending. And sometimes, that sadness can catch us by surprise.

You might notice that you’re more emotional than usual. You may feel nostalgic when you look through pictures from vacation or realize that a favorite summer tradition is over for another year. You might find yourself feeling irritable or overwhelmed as the calendar fills up again.

Maybe you’re grieving the extra time you had with your children or the version of yourself you felt like during the summer. Perhaps you felt more relaxed, spontaneous, connected, or present, and you’re already worried that fall will take that away.

For some women, the sadness shows up as a feeling of “I don’t want to go back to normal.” You may dread the early mornings, packed schedules, homework, commuting, meetings, meal planning, and endless logistics.

You may even feel guilty for being sad because, technically, everything is fine. You may be excited about your children’s new school year or looking forward to fall, but still feel a lump in your throat when summer ends because the season meant something to you.

Summer often gives us something that the rest of the year doesn’t: permission to be less structured. There may be fewer alarms, fewer schedules, fewer activities, and more opportunities to simply say, “What do we feel like doing today?” For women who spend much of the year managing everyone else’s needs, that freedom can feel incredibly valuable.

Summer may also create more opportunities for connection. Maybe you had long conversations with your kids while driving to the beach. Maybe you ate dinner outside. Maybe you stayed up late talking with friends. Maybe you spent weekends exploring instead of catching up on laundry and errands. When those moments disappear, you may not just be missing summer. You may be missing how summer made you feel. And that’s an important distinction.

Even though you can’t stop fall from arriving, you can think about how to recreate some of those summer feelings. You want to identify what made summer feel good and find realistic ways to incorporate those elements into your fall.

For example:

• If you loved more time outside, don’t let the first cool evening convince you that outdoor time is over. Take a family walk after dinner. Sit on the porch with a blanket. Have a fire pit night. Take the dog for a longer walk while the leaves are changing. Eat dinner outside when the weather allows.
• If you loved the spontaneity of summer, this one can be harder to carry over once school and work schedules take over. So instead, it can mean getting ice cream after dinner on a Tuesday, taking a different route home, going for a drive to look at the changing leaves, letting the kids stay up 30 minutes later on a Friday, or having an unplanned family movie night. Keep a little space in your calendar where you don’t decide in advance what you’re going to do, to keep that spontaneity of the moment open.
• If you loved the extra family connection summer brought, try incorporating it in small ways such as maybe everyone sits down together for dinner one night a week, maybe the family takes a walk on Sunday mornings, maybe you create a “no phones” movie night.
• If you loved having more time for yourself and the extra opportunities you got to read, exercise, spend time with friends, or simply sit quietly, now put them on the calendar. If you enjoyed walking, schedule a regular walk. If you loved reading, create a 20-minute reading ritual before bed. If you spent more time with friends, plan one low-key get-together each month. And if what you loved most was simply having nothing to do, schedule some of that too.

One of the hardest parts about summer ending is the feeling that something wonderful is behind you. Counter that feeling by giving yourself something ahead of you.

• Plan a fall day trip.
• Choose a new recipe to make together.
• Plan a weekend hike.
• Have a pumpkin-carving night.
• Schedule dinner with friends.
• Pick a book you want to read.
• Create a fall playlist.

Sometimes having one small thing on the calendar that you genuinely look forward to can change how you experience the entire week. You don’t have to choose between appreciating summer and embracing fall. Take the best of summer with you into fall.