It’s October, the costume order is delayed, and the class pumpkin-patch reminder just popped up on your phone. You’re trying to finish work tasks between school pickups while also remembering who needs to bring the class snack and who left their cleats in the car. By the time you finally sit down, you realize you’ve been carrying half a dozen invisible tasks all day.
From the outside, it looks like everything just gets done — but moms know better. Behind the scenes, we’re the ones ensuring that the costumes fit, that the store-bought cookies make it to the fall festival and that the right-sized jacket is ready when the temperature finally drops below 80. This is the “ghost work” of motherhood — the unseen labor that makes fall feel like fall.
MAKING IT LIGHTER
WRITE IT DOWN:
Instead of carrying the endless tasks in your head, put them on paper or in your notes app. Even small items, like signing a field trip form, feel less overwhelming when written down.
BATCH THE WORK:
Errands don’t have to be five separate trips. Pick up the candy, the costume makeup and the teacher’s gift card in one fell swoop so you spend more time enjoying the season and less time chasing it.
SIMPLIFY EXPECTATIONS:
Kids don’t need Pinterest-worthy décor or gourmet treats to feel the joy of fall. They’ll remember pumpkin carving on the porch more than whether the pumpkins came from a picture-perfect patch.
MARK YOUR WINS:
Invisible work often feels thankless, but it doesn’t have to go unacknowledged. Give yourself the satisfaction of crossing off lists or saying aloud, “That’s done.”
BUILD SHORTCUTS:
Prep with fall in mind. Tuck mini bags of kettle corn or apple chips into your purse for pickup time, or set out tomorrow’s costume accessories the night before so you’re not scrambling.
REWARD YOURSELF:
Balance invisible work with visible fun. Go to a witches’ walk with girlfriends, visit your favorite coffee shop when the fall menu drops or plan a weekend escape somewhere it feels like fall.
The candy bowl refilled before trick-or-treaters arrive, the pumpkin on the porch carved just in time and the last-minute costume accessory tracked down — these are the things your family will remember. So, if you feel like the invisible ghost floating through your home this October, know this: Your quiet labor is what makes the season feel magical.