Thinking about what's next.

I was recently struck by how routine my days are.  I mean, now “retired”, I am almost as scheduled, subconsciously so, more than when I worked outside the home.  I go about a daily routine almost as if I were getting up and preparing to leave for work.  Well, except for the makeup and nice clothes.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I know I can throw an unexpected delay or sleep in a bit later to my day, but typically, it will still go the same.  I decided this morning, while walking around admiring some of my landscaped areas, that I should shake things up, do something different.  I then thought what would that be?  Go counterclockwise around the yard instead of clockwise? My “scheduled” morning isn’t super challenging, you see.

I start out the front door and watch where the little dog runs off to, and she almost always goes to the same area when she first bolts out the door.  I walk past the little dogwood tree at the corner of the house, thinking about how much it has grown and soon will take over the pathway.  I walk past the area where the cars have been parking for 100 years and resolve to move my car to the “new” designated parking space…only to think “nah” or “later”.   Then down to the lakefront, feel the sun on my shoulders and face, check out the lake, the sky, listen to the birds, check to see if little dog has erupted from the woods yet (also her usual routine), walk to the flower pots, check for watering needs and deadhead a few marigolds.  Around this time is when I start to seriously watch for little dog to come out of the woods, call her and whistle, and walk towards the shed.  I check the plantings around the shed, sit on the bench, contemplate life and solve world problems, welcome little dog onto the bench and drink my coffee.

 

This is almost every day.  After we sit for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how the coffee drinking is going, we head inside.  Today I compared this to sitting in traffic on my way to work and how much better this is.  I fix little dog her breakfast, caution her to slow down, fix my own bowl of cereal and go in to the office to read a few news sites, eat my cereal and begin my day in earnest. 

This doesn’t sound too bad, right? It is a good start to the morning. It doesn’t change much from day to day, sometimes I have company so I may have a grandchild to hold hands with as I make my rounds.  Sometimes, and this happens once a week or so, I may sleep in.  If I sleep in, I usually have the same routine but I may make a bigger breakfast for myself.  I don’t know why, but, something about sleeping in makes “brunch” necessary so scrambled eggs and toast is required, if not a full-blown omelet with cheese and bacon, sometimes potatoes.  I know…I know.

I wonder how this is going to change when hubs retires and is here, too. I do really look forward to when he retires, as gosh, he needs it.  He deserves it, but, I mean, is he going to want to walk around with me? I am sure he is going to expect breakfast.  The thing is, although I am alone every day, for a large chunk of the day, morning is special.  Today, for some reason, today, I began to think about when hubs is here, too.  Not just the weekend, but every day.  He has occasionally caught up to me while I sit on the bench.  It’s pleasant but, it’s not meditative.  Sometimes he’s been up and at it for hours before I sit on the bench, has already done his morning thing, so he’s ready for the day to get underway, whatever it might be.

 

I am not quite there yet, fella, I have a routine.