When I left for California, there were dozens of little routines that defined my day.
Check email. Maintain the lives of various virtual animals on iphone games. Write at least one "real" blog post along with the daily 5 list. use a phone app to keep track of how much sleep I got the night before. play such and such a facebook game. Keep up on blog reading and facebook.
My crazy living situation added particular things to my routine too. Get up. Find out when the bus comes. Catch the bus to mom and dad's. Eat breakfast. Make sure to fit a shower in sometime before going home. Go through the day. Figure out whether I have a ride home, or need to take the bus.
I like routine. Routine doesn't change. It feels safe.
And sometimes it smothers and adds pressure without me even noticing.
The only routine that came with me when I traveled was writing a daily 5 list, and that was different because I wrote that every night sitting across from a friend I'd spent the day with, laughing, and essentially co-writing it.
The interruption in routine was worth it.
I didn't realize that I was feeling pressured to cram things into my day.
When maintaining the life of a virtual animal in a game, and managing to check in at the right times of the day becomes a source of pressure, it's time for that to end.
When making sure to read every article (or at least skim them) in google reader becomes an obligation, it's time for some paring down of what's in google reader.
The interruption in my routine was a blessing.
It gave me breathing space.
It forced a step away from the routines.
The virtual farm, ranch, bird sanctuary, fish tanks and stores shut down.
I didn't miss reading every news headline from the bbc in google reader.
I came home and reevaluated.
Some of those routines I picked back up. And some I let die.
And now I'm waiting.
Waiting to see what comes. What new routines will be added. What else needs to be subtracted.
But I've been thinking for weeks about that interruption in routine. About the fact that I deliberately left home to create time to think and pray, but also that it forced a stop and restart of life here. And I'm thankful for the relief from pressures I hadn't even noticed.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
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4 comments:
I miss our daily five routine
And the palm trees and I miss the sun. Please stop hording it up there in the other CA. Please? ;-)
I miss the routine too. mostly because I've been having a hard time making the lists these days, and it was WAY more fun to do them with someone else, and to grin at each other over top of our laptop screens and wait for each other to read the list/comments :)
you can't miss the palm trees. you have palm trees. I get to miss the palm trees, not you.
I also miss SF and goodnight hugs from a friend :)
but you can miss the sun - hopefully sending it your way soon :)
I don't miss the palm trees...I do see them....but they and I all miss the sun :-)
I'm off on a quest to visit sun and palm trees elsewhere it seems since it's vanished from here! Ha!
okay... you visit the palm trees and sun elsewhere (and I'll only be a little jealous!) and then hopefully I'll come and visit them AND you :) So if you could arrange for your sun to come back, that would be lovely!
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