Day 16

Day 16...

Yesterday was an awesome day, talking about love. Congrats again to the happy couple Brandi and Charles. While you're celebrating the start of a new life together, the rest of us are plodding along with our regularly scheduled programming....

Life does seem programmed at times. We get up, go to work, come home, do some chores, have dinner, take a shower, go to sleep, get up got to work.... well, you get the picture. It doesn't have to be that way, but it's nice and comfortable for most of us. We like routine.

I have a lot of routine, but I don't think I have a programmed life. I leave wide bands of time open for things to happen. Not that they often do, but by golly I am ready when they are. I don't like making plans way ahead of time, the more spur of the moment the better. Last minute shopping with a friend, dinner out with coworkers, I'm game.

I think we're happy with our little routines. It's comforting to know that on Saturday afternoon, you'll be going to the same restaurant with the same people every week. It might sound boring, but Chinese food on Friday night is an exciting part of my life these days. I think maybe we enjoy the routine because we're all a bit OCD, and the routine keeps it at bay. We feel in control when we can count on going to the grocery store on Saturday mornings, when we look forward to going to church every Wednesday night.

Unfortunately, bad habits are also routines. Like leaving the dishes in the sink, saying we'll do them tomorrow. Then we complain tomorrow when the dishes are in the sink. I try to break those habits, but I usually just replace them with something else. I hate laundry, but I somehow manage to always find time on Sunday afternoons while watching a Nascar race or a football game to working in the weekly chore of washing, drying and folding. The putting away part is the worst.

We love our programmed lives, but we should always be ready for change. That new restaurant isn't going to succeed if we never try it out. Those old shoes won't get replaced if we never hit the mall. And how will anyone ever tell us how nice we look with our new shoes if we don't go dancing sometime? Maybe even a new haircut or color to shake things up. I feel almost rebellious that I'm letting my fingernails grow out, for the first time in years. It's driving me crazy, but I'm doing it!

Lesson Sixteen: Are you pre-planned? Do you change plans suddenly when something new and interesting comes up, or do you go strictly by your daily planner? Have you ever just said "screw it" and skipped doing something so you could catch an afternoon movie all by yourself? Why not? Think about the way you've planned your life, and don't let yourself miss out on the fun things that pop into it. Live a little. Nah. live a LOT.

714 to go...