I’ve been out of my groove lately, my routines have all gone by the wayside in the face of house repairs and it’s driving me crazy.
Before the last two weeks, had you asked me about my household routines I would have said something like : “I like the idea of routines, how they simplify your days, and how you can reduce the number of choices you have to make every few minutes, but I don’t think I have very many.”
It turns out that I’m wrong, I have lots of them. And having three men tearing out gyproc, adding plaster, and generally taking over most of my main floor and two upstairs rooms, forcing me and my sons to spend most of our time in our recroom, has brought them into stark relief.
I have spent most the past two weeks out of sync, a little flustered, and rather stressed out. I used every technique I have (and I have many) to get myself to calm down. I took three deep breaths, cut my to do list to the bone, meditated, did yoga, tried to get out of the house as often as I could, and I immersed myself in activities with my sons. They all helped but they didn’t get to the heart of the problem.
Then, on Thursday, I casually mentioned to a friend that my ordinary patterns were all thrown off and it clicked. My ROUTINES were shot. Unfortunately between Easter vacation and the continued presence of the workers, I couldn’t just re-establish my usual days.
But I gave it some thought and realized that I need to be able to sit by myself with some tea, and read a little, as close to first thing in the morning as possible. I couldn’t put all my routines back yet, but I could do that. So on Friday morning, I got the kids’ breakfast, got them dressed and then sent them to the recroom without me. And I sat in the kitchen with my giant cup of tea and a book, and there, amid the plaster dust, bits of plastic, and all manner of household detritius, I gained a little sanity, a little calm.
So I’d fully recommend that if your routines have been shifted, for whatever reason, you take a few minutes to look at your day and see what parts of your routine make you feel most centered, most in control of your mind, and see if there is a way to re-establish those.
PS – Sorry for the radio silence, the house repairs have limited my computer time and my brainspace. Regular posting resumes today. 
