As the alarms started to go off again for another structured day - I only have one day when the damn thing is switched off - I muttered to myself, quite loudly,
"I'm fed up with being a slave to routine."
"But we need it", the husband replied chirpily.
"Do we?"
"DO WE??!"
There was a time I would thrive on it.
I liked it.
I wasn't a mum then...
Alarm.
Shower.
Breakfast.
Leave for work.
Notice a familiar car go by earlier in the journey than usual.
Check clock - damn, I'm a minute behind on my routine.
Get to work.
Set up.
Check stuff.
Work starts.
My line of work has always been routine driven.
It's hard to avoid with teaching and timetables.
School starts.
Break time.
Snack time.
Lunch time.
Home time.
Meetings time.
Marking time.
Planning time.
Go home.
Then the babies arrived:
Wake up times.
Nap times.
Feed times.
Activities time.
Iggle Piggle time.
Bed time.
Sleep.
Repeat.
Then they go to school:
Alarm.
Get up.
Shower.
Wake the kiddos.
Remind the kiddos to get dressed.
Make breakfast.
Make packed lunches.
Check the clock.
Holler at the kiddos to get dressed.
Eat.
Teeth.
Shoes.
Coats.
Remind children to put their coats on.
Holler at the kiddos to put their coats on.
Walk to school.
Notice a familiar car go by earlier in the journey than usual.
Check watch- damn, we're a minute behind on our routine.
Wave goodbye.
Walk home.
Write a list for the day.
Shop.
Bake.
Meal prep.
Do the laundry.
Prepare for work days.
All the time watching the clock as it ticks ever closer to 3 o'clock...
Walk to school.
Walk home.
Homework.
Sort tea.
Eat tea.
Bath.
Story time.
Bedtime for kiddos.
Clear up mess.
Husband comes home.
Has his tea.
Clear up mess.
Collapse in bed.
Sleep.
Repeat.
Work days alter the routine - oh the excitement.
Then it's a case of clock watching in order to charge back to pick up the kiddos from After School Club or to relieve Grandma who in turn needs to get back to her own routines looking after her home and Granddad.
You see, it never seems to end.
As I drafted this post earlier in bed I lost track of time.
The husband comes upstairs and asks, "Are you going to have a shower?"
It's 7:06.
Shit, behind routine already.
And so it goes on.
And on.
And on.
Routine.
Do we need it?
Some days I wished we had bought this when we saw it for sale and just packed everything up and went on a never ending journey...
x x x
I think it's so hard to get away from it, we are required to be in so many places by particular times. School is very routine focused. Especially, now when you can't take time out during term time. Routine is in many ways a support, I know we need to be dressed by such and such a time, in order to be out of the door by 8.40. I try to chuck curve balls at it, I'm not for specific eating times, or shower times. Routine completely goes out of the window at weekends and holidays. In January under cold bleak skies, it can feel utter oppressive.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds a fab idea, drive off into the sunset ditching our clocks, phones, laptops and troubles away! Perfect!!!
ReplyDeleteYep, I hate routine too and when you track it down like that, I quite often do in my head....I think to myself there really has to be more to this than the list I just wrote in my head!
I guess routine day's make way for enjoyable non-routine day's but somehow our life here seems to have even lost those in the mix (violins please...)
Anyway I am about to have breakfast *checks time 11.52 routine me you have got to be kidding ;-) xxx
I quite like routine and tracking it all on a list but i fall in the no kids category so my routine is fairly flexible
ReplyDeleteIt can get boring and even oppressive at times, but I think we do need it on the whole. Because my kids do sport on Saturday and Sunday mornings, we have routine seven days a week. I enjoy the break for the school holidays, but am usually quite happy to get back to it!
ReplyDeleteWith three kids lives to organise plus our own we're very routine driven. However I yearn to ditch it and love the holidays when I can do just that.
ReplyDeleteits almost half term Viv - think fo that to keep you going for a few more weeks. I am rubbish at routine I much prefer the freedom of having no deadlines and school run restrictions of the non school days xx (hugs)
ReplyDelete