Routines

My dentist says I should brush and floss every day.  My chiropractor says I should stretch every day.  My pastor says I should pray and read the Bible every day.  My husband thinks I should cook dinner everyday.  My nurse practitioner friend says I should drink eight glasses of water, take vitamins and do aerobic exercise everyday.  My mentors say I need to spend quality time with my son and tell him I love him everyday.  My writing friends say I need to spend a little time writing every day.  My organized friends say I should clean just a little bit of the house every day.  And don’t get me started on my weekly “shoulds.” 

The fact is, I do none of these things everyday.  If I did, I’d have no time for anything else.  I don’t even come close to doing half of them once a week.  I’m about as undisciplined as it gets and I’m forever trying to avoid any sense of order in my life.  The closest thing I get to any routine is having a cup of coffee every morning, but if my husband isn’t home to make it, I don’t bother.  Some days, I confess, I stay in my bathrobe all day, as getting dressed feels just too predictable.

Discipline and routines are good things for some people, but my life is anything but routine and I like it like that.  I tried it the other way.  I made myself a “to do” list of all these “shoulds,” then I misplaced the list.  I’m not very organized, either.

In my perfect world, someone else would make dinner and someone else would clean the house, then someone else could remind me to do those other things I should do.  Oh wait, I think that’s my son’s life, and I’m that someone else.

I’m also the one pestering my husband to get aerobic exercise everyday - but his response is, “I just haven’t gotten into a routine.”  Really?  Is that what it takes?  Isn’t each day a fresh start?  Can’t it just fit in wherever?  But he finds other projects to distract him or a rousing game of chess or Suduko on his I-pad he can’t bear to put down.  Priorities.

It’s not that I’m lazy, I have more energy than most of my friends, I just don’t like structure.  I don’t like feeling I’m on a hamster wheel going around and around looking at or doing the same things day in and day out.  I need to mix it up a bit. 

When I wake up each morning I want there to be a sense of wonder as to what this day will bring.  If my first thoughts are brush, floss, stretch, read, pray, cook, take vitamins, write, clean, and remember to be nice, I’m not very motivated to get out of bed.

Each day is such a precious gift.  I don’t want it to be predictable - I want it to be a total surprise.