Monday, I took a shower at 2 p.m. I didn't expect it to be a revelation, but as I was shampooing and scrubbing and shaving and pumicing, I realized how awesome it felt to be in the shower in the afternoon.
I haven't had an afternoon shower in a really long time; it's not part of my routine. I typically only do morning showers.
Damn routine.
I wasn't a routine-loving person before I became a parent. But kids, they love their routines. Especially Max, a boy who feels most happy and most comfortable when he knows exactly what's going to happen and when. We have wakeup routines, meal routines, drink routines, car routines, Purple Max routines, play routines, potty routines, bedtime routines, routine routines.
The routines tend to make life feel like it's speeding by. Sometimes, it's hard to tell one day from the next, one week from the next. Sometimes, routines make me feel like the settled-in, suburban mom that I am; they make me acutely aware of the passage of time and that I am getting, gulp, older.
My friend Wendy came to visit this weekend; while she was here, our neighbor, Greg, dropped by to ask about borrowing the power washer. I had to explain to Wendy, who's from the city, about the wonders of the power washer and why I'm always using ours. "When did we get this old that we're standing around discussing power washers?!" she asked after Greg left. Yep.
How about you—do you like routines? Or do they sometimes feel so...routine?
Photo by bluetel
