Boogers vs. Broccoli (and the End-of-Year Shift)

What’s the difference between boogers and broccoli?

Kids eat boogers.

This was recently shared with me by a Red Door friend, and it feels like the perfect snapshot of this moment in the school year.

Broccoli is structured - like the routines, rhythms, and expectations we’ve depended on all year.

Boogers are… well, flexible. Let’s just say they feel a little more like the shift away from structure.

And that’s exactly what this time of year feels like: not just a shift in the calendar, but a shift in behavior, rhythm, and expectations.

We are now in the final three weeks of school. And you can feel it everywhere.

Routines are still technically happening, but with less conviction. Mornings require more reminders. Bedtimes become negotiations. Snack requests feel constant, and my daughter has entered a daily campaign for after-school playdates.

Lunchboxes are a perfect example of the shift.

Mimi is officially over her lunches, the same lunches she’s had all year are now met with deep disappointment, dramatic sighs, and full rejection of anything that once felt completely acceptable.

William has been living in his favorite shoes all year. They now have holes. He is unbothered.

And somewhere in the middle of it all, even the smallest routines start to slip.

Dad, who has faithfully packed snacks all year, has suddenly had multiple days where the snack simply didn’t make it into the bag.

Not dramatically. Not intentionally. Just… part of the shift.

Because this is what late May does to families.

The systems that carried us through the year are still there, but they’re loosening at the edges. What once felt automatic now takes intention. What once felt structured now feels optional.

We started the year talking about the power of routine and how it supports kids, builds independence, and helps hold family life together in a predictable rhythm.

And it did. It really did!

But now we’re here. In the in-between.

Where routines still exist, but summer is already pulling at them.

Where structure and flexibility are overlapping in the same day.

Where everything feels a little lighter, a little messier, and a little less predictable.

And maybe that’s the bigger story of the year.

We begin the year in structure. We build routines. We find our rhythm.

And then, slowly, we shift.

Not all at once. Not dramatically. But in small ways, like forgotten snacks, worn-out shoes, and lunches that no longer get the same reception they used to.

Kids feel it too.

More energy. More emotion. More silliness. More opinions about everything from food to footwear. And somehow, here we are at the end of the school year.

So as we move into these final weeks, we’re not really trying to tighten everything back up.

We’re noticing the shift.

We’re holding what still needs holding. We’re letting go of what doesn’t. We’re doing our best with what each day asks for.

Because this is what we’ve been learning all year, in different ways:

The Power Of Routine 

Discovering Connection and Gratitude Through Learning

New Year, New Adventures

Honoring Childhood In A Digital Age

Talking To Kids About A Complicated World

When You Finally Have Time For Yourself…And Life Has Other Plans.

It has all been pointing here.

To this season where structure and flexibility exist side by side.

Where boogers and broccoli somehow live in the same world. Where lunches are accepted or rejected for reasons no one can explain.

And somehow, we make it through.

One snack, one reminder, one worn-out pair of shoes at a time.

Summer is almost here.

And so is the shift.

Broccoli will still be broccoli, boogers will still be boogers, and maybe the best thing we can do is relax, breathe, and lean into the shift.