Some people can fly by the seat of their pants, making things up as they go along each day, but I’m the type of person that loves a routine. That’s not to say I can’t quickly adapt to changing events around me, but when it comes to the more mundane things, I rely a lot on my routine.
What kind of mundane things? Things like my morning routine after I wake up. I’m used to being the only one up in my house when I get up for work at 4am, so on days off when Tara and I get up at the same time and I have to share bathroom space while we both get ready, it throws me off. I’ve forgotten to do things like put on deodorant or brush my teeth. Luckily that doesn’t happen very often.
For decades, whenever I would leave the house, I would check to make sure I had everything… wallet, keys, smokes, lighter, and cell phone. I stopped smoking almost 6 years ago, and just the simple act of not having my lighter in my pocket anymore really messed me up. I would instinctively feel for it, and then spend a few seconds wondering where it went.
I’m doing that all the time now, but it’s not my lighter that I’m looking for. Last summer I stopped wearing my wallet in my back pocket because I finally listened to my chiropractor, and this has caused me nothing but grief. I panic when I feel for my wallet in my back pocket and it’s not there. I know it’s better for my back and hips, but I swear I’m going to lose my wallet one of these days because I wear it in my front pocket and I take it out all the time now. And because my wallet is in there, I have no place for my keys, so I am afraid of losing those too… or at the very least end up leaving them behind by accident. This morning I almost locked myself out of my house when I left for work because they were sitting on the counter.
I’ve always looked at those people that get somewhere and just dump their pockets out, and thought of them as some sort of monster. Seriously, how can you just dump out your wallet and keys all willy-nilly? My wife never leaves her keys in the same place two times in a row, and it drives me nuts, but now I’m unwillingly turning into that kind of monster too. I’ve often wondered if it would just be easier to go back to wearing my wallet in my back pocket again; After all, I’ve got a good health plan for my Chiropractor bills… but then my sore hips and back would snap me back to reality pretty quick.
And now I’ve also had to add one more thing to my routine and I think I’m getting better at it… remembering to have a mask. I have a special pocket on my coat that I carry my mask around in, so when I get to work or a store I always have it with me, because I’ve found myself suddenly realizing that I forgot it at home or in the vehicle and had to go back for it. I’m sure you have too.
My trouble spot these days is remembering to get my masks from the laundry room after they’ve been washed. We hang them to dry and then forget about them. Luckily, all my years in Scouts has paid off, and I carry extras in the vehicle just in case. Be prepared, right?
So just to re-cap…
I dislike willy-nilly
I’m not afraid of change, just not a big fan of it unless there’s an obvious benefit to it.
Change for the sake of change is never a good idea.
Being in Scouts = good
I can wear a mask into a bank and not get arrested
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