“The less routine the more life.”
It’s cold. 32° cold. I have my Christmas tree to take down today so I won’t be going anywhere. I’m always sad when the tree goes. I miss the aroma of pine and the beauty of the lights. My living room reverts to drab and ordinary.
The tree disappeared magically when I was a kid. It was there when I went to school, but when I got home, it was gone. I guess it was like the Elves and the Shoemaker.
At first I struggled for something to write. That happens sometimes. I thought a while and all of a sudden I was inspired.
Elementary school was my first introduction to the routines of life. Every day, Monday through Friday, was the same. I even ate the same breakfast: cocoa and toast and oatmeal if my mother made me eat it on the really cold days. I wore the same outfit, my uniform: a blue skirt, a white blouse and a blue tie. I had a pair of school shoes, and I wore them every day then changed them when I got home. I carried my lunch in a lunchbox. The lunch varied from day-to-day, but I could always count on a sandwich and a dessert. Back then I didn’t realize I was part of a dress rehearsal.
High school was also a routine. Up early, eat on the quick and hurry to catch the bus to the town where I attended school. The bus came at 7:05. I wore a uniform: a plaid skirt, a white blouse, a gray vest and blazer, nylons and black loafers. I carried a school bag, one of those green ones which had to be pulled to close and could be carried over the shoulder on your back. It was required, and it was ugly.
In college, I could wear what I wanted as long as part of it was a skirt. That changed sophomore year when it was so cold we were allowed to wear pants, and once they had opened that door, it couldn’t be shut. I had a schedule of classes, and my friends and I met every morning for coffee, and we had a contest each day as to who could finish the crossword puzzle the fastest. It was a routine of sorts but far different than those of my childhood. College was the freest of times.
Once I got home from Ghana and started teaching, I was back to a set routine: getting up early, having a cup of coffee, going to school, teaching five classes, coming home, changing out of school clothes, preparing classes, correcting papers and then having what was left of the day as mine. There was never much left.
People cautioned me about my early retirement. I didn’t get what they meant at first. I hadn’t stop to think that my life had been a series of routines, and here I was starting a life without one.
When I run into people now, they always ask what I’ve been doing as if doing is so important. I always figure they ask because they’re still in the routine stage of life when doing is most of all there is.
I guess I do have a bit of a routine. I drink my coffee, read my papers and then write. That’s it. That’s all I have left of routine.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: Christmas tree, retirement, routine
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January 3, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Hi Kat,
That question bugged me when I was first retired. I was a bit defensive about the assumption that if I wasn’t going to a job and being compensated with a paycheck then anything I did with my “free” time was worthless. The condescension that I got when I talked about my projects was almost palpable. Now, when those people ask in their patronizing way, I just smile and say I do whatever I want.
I do have a routine, of sorts. Rise and take the dog out, get some breakfast for both of us, boot up the computer and check mail and browse. After that it’s kind of random.
It’s cold here. The sun shines now and then but the clouds are winning I think. Enjoy your day.
January 3, 2012 at 3:31 pm
Hi Caryn,
I love it, “I do whatever I want.” That’s living!!
I gave you my sort of routine, all of it enjoyable. It’s amazing how much fun life is even when you do nothing.
Cold here all day-down to 29° now. Even Gracie isn’t out for long.
I took down Christmas. All’s that left is getting the tree outside and the boxes downstairs. I called my nephew, and he’ll be by to do the grunt work. Now I’m tired.
January 3, 2012 at 1:22 pm
We’re having a storm here again and it sounds really nasty. Normally I can hear how the wind press itself throughb the forest. It does so this time too but with a loud roar and this time the wind reaches the cottage, something it normally doesn’t do.
I bought myself a dvd player today and I’ve just been looking at District 9, a bit different scifi but I liked it a lot.
The whole family always helped to get rid of the christmas tree. It was kind of fun and there was usually not a needle left on the tree when we pushed it out the window 🙂 🙂 🙂
Yes life ia an endless tour of routines but since I’m working quite often in the neighboring factory now days my routines are slightly disturbed and I love it 🙂 I easily get bored with my job normally, most of the times i drift out into an imaginary world when the boredom of routines gets to me but sometime its just impossibe and that’s when i start looking afor a new job 🙂 🙂 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
January 3, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Christer,
I love the sound of the wind through the trees. The only problem is it can get destructive. A tree fell on my brother-in-law’s deck and knock out some of it. The wind was up to 80 MPH.
I liked that movie when I saw it on cable. You’re right about it being a bit strange though.
Having a hwole day ahead of me to do what I want is wonderful!
January 3, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Kat:
You are right about the routines: teaching in Ghana was routine after a short while, with set schedules, familiar students, and breakfast between classes. Every night Mr. Enin’s kids drove his stupid (I mean that in a kind way) turkeys home; I went to market every three days for perishables. We all looked forward to the routine breaks between trimesters, and to the rains in the spring. We even looked forward to the expected harmattan winds in November/December, right on schedule. Taking five showers a day to cool off was routine; getting mail from home was not.
Peg will retire from her routine work schedule in July, but is thinking about working 2 days/week. As for me, I’m nor ready just yet.
January 3, 2012 at 6:48 pm
Bill,
I have been retired 7 and a half years. I could go early so I did, never gave ready any thought. Could was all it took. I figured I’d find my way, and I have.
You’re right about life in Bolga. We did have a routine, but I never minded it. Everything was so different that even the routine was fun. I remember we’d stand outside in the dry season and ask if it looked like rain.
The market every three days was always like a carnival to me. I never knew what I’d find. I loved feeling cold at night during the harmattan. Nothing was better in the heat than a cold shower.
When I first got to Bolga, I checked several times a day for mail. I hadn’t yet settled. By Christmas, I’d forget to check some days. I knew then I was home.
I want to go back to Ghana. This time I’ll head right to Bolga and stay there for most of the trip. I’m thinking in another year I’ll have enough money. I just didn’t get enough when I was there for the two weeks last fall.
I want to go back to Ghana
January 3, 2012 at 6:16 pm
We never had a dress code at College. Which College did you attend? Actually the hippie movement drove the female students from skirts to jeans and colorful tops. I can’t remember going to class dressed up. My happiest day was moving off campus with two friends. We found a house a mile from campus and it was thrilling to have all the amenities of home. If I look at my routine, since last summer, I spend more time blogging than working. But the real estate market here is still down so one never knows if a spark of life will deliver us a good year or not.
January 3, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Z&Me,
The only dress code was women couldn’t wear pants. That was common back then as the hippie movement, in 1969, hadn’t yet spread everywhere, especially not to North Andover, MA where Merrimack college is. My friend Clare went to a state school in NJ and she couldn’t wear pants either. It was the times.
I lived off campus my junior and senior years.
January 4, 2012 at 5:34 am
Perhaps we need routine? I have not worked–used to teach–for some 20 years and I still miss being in a class with young kids.
I enjoy my non-work though and find my days full enough with reading, my blog, trips to the woods, the library, shopping…that too is routine but a relaxed one! Routine: if I do not find my pap[er in my drive by 6 in the morning, I am a bit upset…habit=routine.
I do miss the Cape,where you are, though, and went instead to Barbados this past summer. At the Cape, routine….makes me feel right at home.
January 4, 2012 at 11:07 am
Fred,
You are right about needing some routine as I do seem to have one, but it is no longer cast in stone. My routine is to start my day with coffee and the papers then I’m ready to face the world.
When I worked, there was no leeway to change the day. I had to be there before the kids and long after. Now I make a list of what I need to do but sometimes, when the mood strikes me, I decide to do nothing and tuck the list away for another day.
I think I would have chosen Barbados instead of the Cape. Getting out of our comfort zone makes the day zestier.
January 4, 2012 at 11:59 am
Babados was great. 85 percent literacy! Alas, att 80, I was called up to do the limbo–and I had been walking 3-4 miles a day in theheat there. When I got home, found I had fractured my knee and am still wearing a brace.
We live by and need routine. But when not working require far less and that is the pleasure of being done with it all.
January 4, 2012 at 6:27 pm
OMG, Fred
That’s it for me-never will I do the limbo. I have knee trouble going up the stairs.
You’re right about being done with work and the freedom of it all!
January 4, 2012 at 6:43 pm
No more skateboard either! I would go each year to P-Town, climb the tower as a test of my condition each year…I do plan to do it again when The Bride takes me back there
As for your tree: were it up year-round, it would blend and be taken for granted. It is special because it is not always there.
January 4, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Fred,
My tree is now outside waiting to go to the dump.The dump has a special place just for the trees which will then be taken to a beach and used to protect the dunes.
It was so beautiful and now my living room is dark and drab.
My mother had an artificial tree she decided to keep up one year. She decorated it for all the different holidays: Valentine’s Day, Easter and even President’s Day!
January 5, 2012 at 6:22 am
Temperatures are constantly above 40. No winter yet at all.
But we are in dear need of Hans Brinkers; please give him back to us. Rains are so heavy upstream and in our own little Holland that the waterlevels are dangerously high and dikes may overflow or break. Pumping stations can’t cope and the first region is being evacuated at this very moment.
So the pessimists who announced that Holland will in due time be swallowed by the sea may be proven wrong and we’ll drown from the inside out.
Still, for the time being, I’m about to go out for lunch. That is my routine and I love it.
January 5, 2012 at 11:35 am
Bert,
Winter isn’t hiding from you here. Even the mountain ski areas have to make snow. The coldest day was yesterday, and we’re back to the 40’s today. I wish I could send Hans right back to you.
I can understand why the dikes may overflow and towns need to be evacuated. I was amazed when I went to Holland and saw how the dikes go right through the towns. I don’t know where I thought they’d be.
I hope you enjoyed your lunch! That’s a wonderful routine.
January 6, 2012 at 2:45 am
Upper 70s yesterday and lower 70s today in south Texas. We like warm. I still maintain that it takes less energy to sweat than to shiver! 😉
And as for routines: You have many more routines in your life. They just do not necessarily have the periodicity of ONE day. You’ve already mentioned the period of the dump visit; the visits to the doctor; those trips off the cape; dinners and fun with friends; shopping for groceries. All of life’s actions go that way. I believe I’m for Donovan Leitch’s lyrics in “Happiness Runs”
Little pebble upon the sand
Now you’re lying here in my hand,
How many years have you been here ?
Little human upon the sand
From where I’m lying here in your hand,
You to me are but a passing breeze.
The sun will always shine where you stand
Depending in which land
You may find yourself.
Now you have my blessing, go your way.
Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea.
Everybody is a part of everything anyway,
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Happiness runs, happiness runs free
Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea.
Everybody is a part of everything anyway,
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea.
Everybody is a part of everything anyway,
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Happiness runs, happiness runs.
Why ? Because.
Why ? Because.
Why ? Because.
Why ? Because.
Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea.
Everybody is a part of everything anyway,
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be.
You can have everything if you let yourself be
January 6, 2012 at 11:28 am
Rick,
I have always thought of routine as a day to day set of actions. When I worked, it was getting up when the alarm went off and then living the outline of the same day over and over. I figure I’ll have to give routine some more thought as you’re right. I do have things I do all the time but the when I do them is not set in stone anymore. When I worked, I did laundry and went to the dump every Sunday. Now I go only when the trunk is filled with trash bags, but I do still go.
January 7, 2012 at 3:17 pm
I guess you could think of life as an interrelated set of algorithmic & circadian cycles. How’s that for obfuscation & excess nomenclature?
January 7, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Yikes! Rick!!!!