Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Routines



A lot can be said for a routine even though it can be very boring at times.


We do get bored by a routine if we keep having to do something. If we have to make one more sandwich and put it in a baggie, we think we will go daffy--try 40 years of doing that!!! But without that sandwich, we pay a lot more going out for lunch, so we continue to do it. Routine can save money.


If we do something long enough though, it does become part of us like brushing our teeth. If we go to bed purposely not brushing because we're too tired, etc., we feel guilty. We may get up immediately and brush, or tomorrow, we will do a better job of brushing because it's part of us and our good dental training as children. Routine can save us from harm.


Children rely on routine to feel secure. They want their blankies every night and the favorite cereal in the morning. We depend on coffee/tea/pop in the morning to get us off on the right foot. Without this routine, whole days can be ruined!! Routine gives us a sense of comfort.


As a retiree, I'm not getting much done--not as much as I expected to when I was working. It took me long enough to realize it, but I don't have a real routine! I still brush my teeth and drink coffee in the morning, but I don't have to make those sandwiches in a baggie anymore--woohoo!!! That is one routine I don't need to continue to survive this life!!! I do think I need some new routines, however!


I thought I would write more and I haven't. I intended to write a post this morning, and I have been working on one that just doesn't come together, but I get sidetracked as usual. I even read a few posts today to get me motivated. I read Elsie's (Elsie Tries Writing), and she talked about her routine of walking and this time finding a bunch of small bones--how interesting is that! She is going to share her findings with another teacher who might display them on her Wonder Table.


I walk in the morning, so my goal was to find something on my walk that I could write about. I did take a few pictures--nothing to move me right now. I then went on my nature walk in my garden and ended up pulling weeds and dead plants. I took more pictures. Now I'm at my computer deciding what to write about. I even made a list of things I could write about--when all else fails.


I think I have slipped back into my old routine of thinking a post should be earth shattering, bound book-worthy, and absolutely spell-binding. Some old routines can hurt you, too.


I forget a post is a slice of life story--wanderings and wonderings. I do need to come up with a writing routine and remember that the smallest things can be a post. Here's to a writing routine and small things once again!!!!





7 comments:

  1. I too forget that slicing is not earth shattering. I feel like I am supposed to write a finished novel sometimes. I like how you described routine in different lights, and remembered that slicing is simple. It's life. It's small.

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  2. Your routine or lack of it inspired a great post. Routines are important but they shouldn't be the driving force of a life. I have become much more observant because of SOL writing. I never know where the next slice will come from.

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  3. Your post resonates with me. Thank you. I love your last two paragraphs. Thinking I'll add them to my notebook. Thanks, Ruth

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  4. I loved the way you shared your thoughts. It really is a slice of your life right now, & interesting the way you are re-inventing your routines, or at least trying to. I wrote something about this last week, but it veered a different way, holding that routines & finishing something was important because of so much other uncertainty. I think I've enjoyed almost everyone's posts, no matter what. They're people's thoughts & lives, like yours, & interesting!

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  5. The good news is you are never routine-you're a true original! The grandkids(and kids) are lucky to have a grams(Mom) that always encourages their imagination/dreams...now how about a choc chip baking routine(some routines will never get old!!!)

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  6. Thanks so much for your post. Reading it made me feel better about my own writing. My grand plans of posting and writing more this summer didn't really happen. I guess that is okay. :)

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  7. I'm not retired but I know that I do better with a routine and that is why I flounder for a few weeks in the summer before I get one going. Oh, I'd love to be back in June right now though - floundering away!!

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