Tomorrow marks a week before Thanksgiving. It was the day Ken and Jerry, buddies since they were patrol partners with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Police, left for deer hunting in northern Wisconsin. It gave them plenty of time for the eight-hour drive and settling in at the cabin before the season opened Saturday morning.
If I asked my husband when they were leaving, he responded, “We always…” For forty years, they followed the same agenda–leaving before sunrise, stopping at the same restaurants along the way, using the same deer stands and getting together with the same friends in the evenings. The following Tuesday they returned home. The only difference was sometimes they each brought back a deer and sometimes not. Either way, they enjoyed the trip.
Routines regulate our lives. Rituals get us up and ready for work in the morning, dressed to go out on the town in the evening or prepared for a day at home puttering around.
I spend mornings following Ernest Hemingway’s first rule for writers, “Apply the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.” My family knows my ‘do not disturb’ sign is up from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. That has been my siesta time for more than half a century. I can’t walk out the door until I’ve followed my mother’s admonition, “Go to the bathroom and get a drink.”
A couple months ago, I was preparing to attend our granddaughter’s wedding. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d worn panty hose and a dress. I had to stop and think just how to put on the garb. I also reminded myself to “act like a lady” while wearing it.
What do you always do?
Yes, there are a lot of “always” in our lives, but particularly since I have had four husbands, the “always” has often had to change. Flexibility has been more the order of the day. For example, Karl wanted to walk in the door after work, get a kiss, and then eat. Dale, on the other hand, wanted to have a drink (of booze) when he first arrived after work, and then eat. I don’t remember that Bill was locked into any routines except when he was healthy, he wanted to travel just as much as our money and time would allow. Sid has more dietary “always.” This meat goes with this condiment, etc.
I have “always” liked to read, and will do it where ever I get a chance – doctor’s offices, in the bathroom, before I go to sleep at night, if TV is boring – you name it. I don’t think I will ever change that.
You have had more always. It seems men of our era expect us to do the adjusting but maybe if I saw things from their side, I would have a different opinion.
Hi there, constantly i used to check blog posts here in the early hours in the morning, because i love to learn more and more. Faith Robinet Zosi
Glad your reading my blog.