Routines of life

How many times have you been told that habits and routines are bad? They make you complacent. Often over the years, I would guess. But not all habits are bad habits. Of course smoking (I quit cold-turkey seven years ago), too much alcohol, over-eating and the like are all bad. These are the habits of 'sin'. But those aren't the habits I mean.

My days are never the same due to my schedule. As a retail manager for twenty-five years I work nights, days, early days and weekends. It is not uncommon to work eight, nine or ten days in a row. As often as not I get home to kiss My Beloved who is fast asleep and must wake before she does to go back to work. My weekends need to have the word 'off' in front of them to be relaxing. Most just know these days as weekends. Such is the life of retail. I'm not complaining. It has mostly been a worthwhile career. It does however have it's moments.

Most people are able to get into a routine to make their lives normal. Usually that involves up daily at a certain time, meals also like clockwork etc. North of 50 has by my observation, a life that runs on a consistent schedule. The Stache and Baby Sis, however both live a harried existence. For me, I have few if any routines afforded North of 50. My life is generally one, big un-routine. I must fit grass-cutting, house fixing, reading, exercise etc. into whatever vacancy that has come about. Working on a home fix-it project is hard when one only has a narrow window of an hour or two at a time. Often the prep work takes that long and then it is time to stop.

My few little routines give me a small amount of normalcy in life. When I do have a morning off I like to spread the newspaper out on the counter and sip a cup of coffee while I leaf through the pages. I rarely if ever turn on the TV while home alone. I prefer sports talk radio until the afternoon. This way I can work on things around the house and still keep in touch. Much to My Beloved's dismay (at times) I have wired the house with speakers that I may wander from room to room, level to level and not miss a syllable. Generally, I'm not much for listening to music unless in the car. Whatever tasks I need to complete I try to wrap up before My Beloved gets home from her work. Then it is time for us to be together. That is the one habit I will never try to change.

On that note, enjoy whatever routines give your life pleasure and structure as long as you don't become a slave to them.