“The less routine the more life.”
This morning it poured, and the rain made such a thunderous racket on the roof and deck it woke me up. The day is now cloudy and damp, and the paper predicts it will stay this way through at least Tuesday. I guess we’re paying the price for the beauty of last week.
I am running late as I had a couple of early morning errands. I have more to do but figured I’d finish Coffee before I go back out and about.
Today, when I turned the calendar to October, I was taken a bit aback to realize how quickly the year is passing. It’s that age thing-the older we get, the shorter each year seems. I remember being young and waiting endlessly for the week to end. I was stuck in school for what seemed like eons as it always felt as if Friday took forever to come. The first of October meant counting the days until Halloween, a whole month of days. We had Columbus day off in the middle to give us a bit of a break, but that didn’t change how long the month stretched in front of us.
There was a routine to every day back then, maybe the first inkling to what lay before us as adults. We got up every weekday, ate breakfast, got dressed, grabbed our schoolbags and walked to school. School started at the ringing of a bell, a hand bell rung outside the school door by one of the nuns. The same classes followed each other every day except once a week when music and art changed the routine. Lunch was eaten at the ringing of the bell and finished at the ringing of the same bell. At the end of the day, we watched the slow movement of the clock’s hands and listened for the bell to send us home. We played a bit, did homework, ate dinner, watched TV and went to bed.
The weekends, though open and free, had a routine of their own. Saturday started with cartoons and cereal in front of the TV and then the rest of the day was ours until bath time. I remember my brother and I took our own baths while my sisters shared one. They always cried when my mother combed the snarls out of their hair after the shampooing. It was as much a part of the routine as the shampooing. We’d stay up a bit later then be sent off to bed. We’d whine about the unfairness of it all as we went up the stairs.
We’d get up, put on our Sunday clothes and then go off to church grumbling the whole way as church as never a favorite of ours. We’d endure the mass, get home and change as quickly as possible then play a bit until dinner. Sunday dinner was always my favorite. It was the special meal of the week when we often had a roast, something my parents could ill afford more than once a week. Sometimes we’d go visit my grandparents while other Sundays we could do whatever we wanted. Besides church, the only other drawback to Sunday was we were forced to go to bed early to be ready for school the next day.
When Monday morning came, so did the routine of being a kid.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: bath night, Handbell, October, routine, Saturday, school, Sunday, Sunday roast
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October 1, 2011 at 1:13 pm
The day started out foggy and damp but after the sun broke through it continued to stay sunny until it went down. It was well over 70F and it felt like summer again 🙂
Much the same routines here but I can´t remember they showing childrens programs on saturday mornings until I was a rather old child. Mostly they showed childrens programs every day around 6:30 pm.
Have a great day!
Christer.
October 1, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Christer,
The day stayed the same though I swear the sun did try a couple of times.
I did a few errands but not much else all day. Some days are just like that!
October 1, 2011 at 1:25 pm
We no longer have a paper calendar to change when the months end since we now keep everything in iCal. The iMac, iPod Touches and iPads all sync together to keep us on track and on time. Everyone needs structure in their lives. Without it I become disorganized and time slips away. I enjoy the structure of the work day and find myself wandering mentally when I am at home on the weekends without having that nice schedule to follow. I don’t know if I will ever get to retire, but I don’t think I can be happy not working.
Tomorrow I am off agin to Toronto for a week where I can put on a jacket to enjoy those cool crisp mornings and see the leaves beginning to change.
Today we are licking our wounds which were inflicted by the Rays beating up on the Rangers last night. I hope it doesn’t turn out to be a repeat of last year where the home team didn’t win one game during the League Division Playoffs.
October 1, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Bob,
I used to use my computer to keep track,but I just don’t have too many items anymore so I just wrote them down. For the whole of this month I have a wedding, a talk Ihave to give on Ghana and a blood test. That’s it for my schedule-the rest is up to me.
I worrried about not having a specific structure once I retired, but I have coped just fine.The structure has changed, that’s all. You find ways to keep busy and all of a sudden the day is gone.
I love not working.