“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routines.”
We have another rainy day, a preview of the weekend. It might rain Saturday, will rain Sunday and will likely snow on Monday. This sounds like a weekend to hunker down.
When I was growing up, I never thought of my life as routine. I was seldom bored, except maybe on Sundays. Every day was fun.
When I was a kid, we didn’t have sleepovers. We had pajama parties. They were usually a birthday celebration. We’d arrive in our pajamas, and we’d be toting pillows, blankets and presents. Usually we’d set up our blankets and pillows on the living room floor. A nearby table was always groaning under the weight of snacks like popcorn and chips and candy. We’d sing and laugh and even dance to music. At sometime during the evening, they’d be a birthday cake, a happy birthday song and presents. One parent was the designated sentry. That parent’s job was to tell us when it was time to settle down and get to sleep. That always made us snicker. Eventually, though, we’d tire out, lie down, get quiet and fall asleep.
After Christmas, winters were always quiet. The days had routines. The weekdays were school, a short playtime until the street lights came on then TV until dinner. Even dinners had routine menus, except for Friday, the no meat day. We ate chicken or ground beef, potatoes, usually mashed, and a vegetable. For dessert, we’d grab cookies if there were any left. The weekends were less regimented. Saturday was movie day or bike day or sledding day or a day of exploration. Saturday dinner, though, was always the same. I think just about everyone in New England ate hot dogs, beans and brown bread. I always thought of it as traditional, not routine. Most Sundays were boring. We had to go to church. We had to hang around for Sunday dinner. We went to bed early. It was a school night.
This is a good time. My face has healed. I am finally rid of that cough. I have rejoined the world.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
January 26, 2024 at 3:44 pm
Hey Kat,
I like routine. It feels comfortable and meets my needs. My spouse is not into routine as much so we have to go out occasionally.
It’s another gray, cloudy, but cool day. The high is predicated to hit 57°. January is just plain dreary. The only good thing is that we’re not expecting any freezing precipitation for the rest of the month.
Here’s a statistic that is as dreary as the sky. The average lifespan for a man is 73 years and for woman 77 years. That’s 3,796 weeks or 4,004 weeks for woman. I have beat the averages and you are just getting there. When you realize it’s only 4,000 weeks or less, you begin to think, where has the time gone?
January 26, 2024 at 9:21 pm
Hi Bob,
I never noticed it was routine when I was a kid because even the same thing wasn’t always the same thing. Later, when I was working in the high school, life changed day to day because I was working with kids who are most unpredictable.
It stayed damp and cloudy all day today. Tomorrow will be much like today. I’m hoping Washington DC’s temperature of close to 80 degrees will work its way north to us. First, though, Monday will be snowy.
Yup, I am a year away!!
My grandnephews and niece are expected to live to be 100. In 1947, the overall life expectancy was 66.8 with Women at 69.7 and men at 64.4.
January 26, 2024 at 10:01 pm
You and I both beat the 1947 life expectancy. We survived tobacco use and no seatbelts in cars. We were lucky to have both antibiotics and the Salk vaccine. I’m shooting for 86, the age my father died, hopefully more. 🙂
January 27, 2024 at 2:06 am
My father died at 66, my mother at 78. Two of my grandparents lived into their 90’s. I’m hoping to do the same!!