Dear fellow parent,

Last week in our Engage newsletter we mentioned further ways of being at school and therapy meetings. Ground, Reframe, Name. I am staying with this, I have met with parents and friends who are going into or have had meetings with schools and clinics in preparation for the year ahead.

This week I want to take about how we:

Adapt

So, the meeting is finished. Goals have been written, timelines set, new forms in your inbox. It’s tempting to rush straight into the next round of doing — printing, emailing, reorganizing the calendar.

But adaptation also happens after the meeting, in the way we choose to carry it forward. It’s less about the speed of our response, more about the vision we hold for the year ahead.

What if you gave yourself permission to pause first? To root the year not only in tasks, but in being?

Here’s a simple way to begin:

• Ground yourself: Before sending a single email or writing up a schedule for completing therapy programmes, or planning homework routines, take three slow breaths. Notice your shoulders.

  Remind yourself: I am not only a manager of services. I am a parent who knows my child deeply.

• Name your vision: Jot down a few sentences for yourself: What do I want this school year to feel like for my child? For our family? For me?

• Choose one anchor: Pick a single theme — maybe “creating a habit of asking for help,” “building confidence,” or “steady routines.” Let this be your compass when the paperwork starts to scatter your attention.

• Bring it back to your child: Share one strength-based sentence with them: “I love how you are able to keep track of your homework and books for school everyday.” Let them hear their own strengths echoed back in ways they can carry.

These small acts of being are what make the difference between a year that is only managed and a year that is also lived.

Try this:
After your next meeting, schedule a 15-minute “What I want the next few months to look like pause.” Put it on the calendar, just like the appointments. Use it to write, or simply sit with your child. Out of that pause, choose one guiding word or phrase for the term/year. Write it at the top of your calendar. Let it shape the doing that follows.

Adapting is not just bending to what’s required. It’s choosing how you — and your child — will be in the midst of it.

A Glimpse Ahead:
Next time, we’ll step into Discover: An Seomra Ciúin — a quiet room for listening, noticing, and finding new ways forward.

Until then:
One breath for your vision.
One breath for your child’s gifts.
And one breath for the year you are shaping together.