September 16, 2020

September 16, 2020 

The days all blend as they are subsumed by routine. 

6AM - the alarm first goes off, if I got up now I could get all my morning tasks easily done before work - maybe even claim some time to read or journal 

6:45 is when I usually climb out of bed, take a few moments to fumble for my glasses and cell phone - a “quick” glance at Instagram and Facebook (if nothing major or click-provoking has happened and off to the bathroom where I take a much longer shower than I need to, prefaced with some stretches my doctors recommend. 

7:30 is usually when I emerge, get dressed, take my drugs, take another glance at the phone while I set up a podcast for a dog walk. 

8:00 is when my work day is supposed to start but I’m usually just finishing up my walk. If I was mindful the night before coffee will be ready, otherwise I prepare the pot and feed the dogs and cats. 

Somewhere between 8:15 and 8:30 is when I officially “clock in” top off my coffee and head to the office for work. I easily spend my first 30 minutes staring at my email and calendar to mentally plan my day before jotting some notes. Sometimes I’ll steal 20 minutes to update my journal - more if my phone prompts a distraction. 

Noon is when I try to break for lunch. Lately it’s tossing a salad kit from Trader Joe’s, and sitting with Lisa and the pugs for awhile. Officially my lunch is supposed to take 30 minutes but I like to take an hour and just bump my quitting time back another 30 minutes. I’d like to take a walk during this time, maybe read a chapter in a book, but this hour slips quickly by and soon it is over. 

1:00 and I’m back to work. This is usually my productive time (I am not a morning person) I try to schedule most of my meetings in the afternoon for that reason and otherwise makeup for time I’ve wasted in the morning. 

5PM is when I should call it a day, but because of my late start it’s usually 5:30 before I “clock out.” 

5:30 is “peanut happy hour” - we’ll break for a cocktail, sit in our backyard, and feed the scrub jays peanuts - or we used to - the pugs have discovered that peanuts make great treats, so we crack nuts for them - or they’ll forage what we left out for the birds in the morning. It’s still Summer so the sun is up until 7:00, so we’ll usually have another cocktail or two before sunset. 

7:30 and I’m usually in the kitchen, feeding the dogs and cats before I prep our dinner - lately a kit from Sun Basket, but when we have extra cocktails it may be retrieving the delivery from the front porch, phoning in for pizza, ramen, or tacos. 

8:30 - 9:00 and we’ve wrapped up dinner. I’ll take some time to do the dishes, and if I remember prep some coffee for the next day. I might squeeze in a random chore, put some laundry away, take out some trash - but mostly these things are saved for the weekend. 

9:30 and it’s the late night dog walk. I’ll listen to a podcast, catch some Pokémon and if I’m lucky, take a moment to note the position of the planet planets, or the phase of moon. 

10:00 and it’s really too late to start anything. Maybe we’ll watch an episode of something? We started the Mandalorian recently, but mostly it’s back to the phones and Instagram or Facebook. I might try to read an ebook chapter, or compose another diary entry. Lately there is a lot of eye rolling over the latest political blunder or shared sighs of exasperation at the current disaster, death toll, or ignorant remark. 

11:30 and it’s time for bed, though sometime we’ll linger beyond midnight if something caught our attention or we just can’t sleep. 

This is how most days play out with slight variation. The day is filled and yet so empty. There were similar routines before, they emerge so easily. Most of my aspirations await the weekend, when everything is disrupted - including my plans. I know everyone else has their routines, and honestly I’d like to hear about them, how everyone else cycles through the day finding both comfort and restriction in their rhythms. Sunrise sunset.