Routines

Routines can be both a blessing and a curse. They often give one a sense of stability in a world of instability. I like that I can't go to bed without flossing my teeth every night. That removes the need to think about whether I really need to or want to.  I just have to, period. It sure has kept my teeth in good repair at an age when others have lost theirs.

I like the orderliness that routines provide to my life. Maybe the older one gets the more one appreciates order rather than chaos that brings dis ease.  Not that we don't appreciate some excitement and adventure, but we want it in a more predictable way than we did in our youth.

I like that I feel the need each day to get out and exercise.  However, I want to do it under my own terms and not be tied to a scheduled group class of some kind.  I want to be the one to decide when, where and how much. I don't want to rely on someone else or some one else to rely on me. That's why I don't join clubs.  Their requirements become too demanding with time and rules. I know they each have much to offer, but I don't want them to become too routine in my life. I don't want to have to show up under others' terms. That, for me is when routines become a curse.

They also become a curse when they are in control without any real reason for being so. Michael has a lot of routines that don't necessarily make sense to me, but I guess they bring him a sense of rightness to his world.  I just hope he doesn't hold on to them for the sake of " just because that is the way I always have done it" and he has lost the reason why.

Maybe I'll rethink some of my routines and see where they stand in importance to my wellbeing.  It just might be time to shake some of them up a bit, re-evaluate the why and start some new ones.  Let's see, where will I begin? But, I know I'll leave the flossing alone. And how I do love my morning coffee!