Routine

My husband always jokes that I am like an infant. I am eat, poop and sleep. Infants thrive on routine. Something that is predictable, where all their needs are being met.

I am just now beginning to understand the importance of routines. When I was in school, it was easy to have a routine and I never gave it much thought. Now that I've been working for more than 2 years, I find myself longing for a routine. I have to consciously think about it. My schedule at work is not consistent. As a nurse, I could be scheduled for any day of the week. The only constant, is that I need to work every 3rd weekend. When Nathan's grandma lost her driver's license, I requested to have every Tuesday off so that I can plan to do things with her. When she needs to make plans or appointments, she knows that I will be available to help her on Tuesdays. This is what sparked my curiosity in routines.

I've discovered that even the most basic of routines can be very calming and refreshing. Since I am pretty much worthless around the house the days I work, I have developed a routine for my days off. I get up and walk for an hour in the morning, come back and wake up Nathan for work, shower, eat breakfast, empty the dishwasher, throw in a load of laundry, tidy-up around the house and by 9:00, I am free to complete whatever I have on my agenda for the day. Those few little things that I do in the morning, get me started and allow me to calmly accomplish everything else that day. There is something "destressing" about accomplishing those very basic and overlooked tasks before I can really relax and enjoy my day off.