There
are times when I’m not sure. And quite honestly, whether or not
I’ve brushed my teeth is not the only thing I debate during a
day.
Still,
I suppose I should consider myself fortunate. As of right now,
I’m not taking any daily medication. In fact, the only thing I
take regularly is a multivitamin. And while I absolutely miss
a vitamin here and there, I have no concerns about “did I take
my pills” moments.
I’m
also not a coffee drinker by routine or need. Yes, coffee, tea
and hot chocolate are occasional choices. There are times when
I enjoy a cup or two or more each day, and at times on several
days in a row. But I don’t have an everyday necessity for any
of it.
The
basic ideas to take from this are that I really don’t have many
habits or routines when it comes to my daily endeavors. I don’t
start things off by lining up containers from the medicine cabinet.
I don’t need to put on a pot of coffee. While it may edge right
up against too much information, if I’m headed outside to do some
yardwork on a hot summer day, I’ll often skip a morning shower
and wait until the work is done. All of which often leads me into
some vague and troubled waters.
I’ll
wake up and try to get into the kitchen before Terry. It’s not
that there is some type of race or need to be there first. But
I like to try and take care of her a bit when I can, and having
some juice out for her when she arrives and begins to consider
breakfast options is a small gesture on my part.
When
I’m home during the day, the mail may arrive or the trash cans
might need to be brought in or any other assorted chores may take
command of my attention.
For
all of this and more, pouring juice and fetching deliveries, it’s
easy to get moved away from measured and planned movement around
the house or even the best intentions. End result? My toothbrush
on occasion remains dry into the afternoon. And by then, I just
have no memory of whether I brushed them when I got up or not.
I suppose it never hurts to brush them twice. (Or three times.)
But
this isn’t about brushing my teeth. At least not entirely.
It
is about routines. It could be brushing teeth, making coffee,
or looking to see if the trash has been picked up, there are certain
things that tend to ground us. To do items with a specific time
and place. For instance… that idea about the trash cans…
That’s
one of the ways I recognize Monday.
Going
back for almost thirty years of my professional life, I don’t
believe I’ve had the same days off for more than half of those
years. In fact, I don’t think I’ve worked the same shift for more
than half of those years. I’ve been scheduled to work hours literally
around the clock, and my days off have included all seven days
of the week, including six-day work weeks and split days off.
But
trash day… that’s been fairly consistent. It’s Monday. Empty the
cans around the house on Sunday, round up the recycling, and late
in the afternoon move all of the items to the end of the driveway.
Old
neighbor of ours used to complain about rain on Saturdays during
the summer. He worked a Monday thru Friday job and liked to head
out on Saturday mornings around 10am to mow the lawn. But when
it rained, that ended the project. He hated letting it grow for
two weeks, so he would have to adjust and try to fit the chore
into his schedule on another day. And good heavens, the world
was falling apart if the weather moved his effort by two or three
days, which just destroyed his plans and expectations.
I’m
not that locked into my list of chores of scheduled events, but
I actually understand his frustrations. Flip these two items on
the schedule, adjust that task for a change in plans, answer an
unexpected phone call and respond to some e-mails, and suddenly
the entire morning turns into an unproductive mess where you’re
left wondering what you actually accomplished.
Or
more accurately, just to be safe, if you brushed your teeth.