Routine

Since I was five, my family lived in the same house. We went to the same church. For ten years, I was homeschooled – doing my school work at the same table. We had mostly the same neighbors with only a few variances as people got divorced or moved out of town. My parents even have some of the same carpet and wood paneling that came with the house. When I go home, I get a huge whiff of nostalgia – a few small variances, but mostly, things are the same as they were when I grew up. That sameness is fine – welcome even. Kids need routine and structure. Their minds are busy processing the world around them, the last thing they need is that world turned upside down.

But now, I’m an adult. And sometimes, I get bored. OK, it’s often. I get bored often. Sameness, monotony and routine are dull to me. It seems that there are a few years of spontaneity in life – college to marriage. But is that all? After that, is it all working long-term at the same job and paying the same bills and cleaning the same floors? I have already dated a few different people, tried out a few many different jobs. I have lived in a few different apartments. Was that my variety in life? Is the variety just for until you find what you want to stick with?

I like what I have – don’t get me wrong. I could have dated for ten more years and Steve still would have been my soul mate. I could have had twenty more jobs and I would still be dreaming of being a writer. I could have moved states five times and I would still want to move again. Things are good. But things are the same. 

Maybe vacations are the answer. I live for vacations. I need them for my mind to wash out the routine for a few days. I haven’t had a vacation in a long time. And these are times when I start realizing how routine my life has become.Vacation makes you crave your own house and your normal routine again. It’s a fresh perspective.

All of us, from time to time, need a plunge into freedom and novelty, after which routine and discipline will seem delightful by contrast.  ~André Maurois