Routine

Routine is the rhythm of life. It’s what takes you through a day, week, month, year. How you connect and relate. It’s a salve in times of trouble and shackles when you are looking to make a break.

For me, it’s a comfort. It’s a balance of just enough and not enough. I love the unconscious element mixed with intention. For me it’s the basics of a day:

• quiet time each morning with our four dogs — contemplating life, running songs through my head, reading, writing or just sitting and looking out the window;
• getting coffee with the dogs — three who like to come get their coffee with me and one who likes hers in bed;
• coffee in hand as I read the news, check in on my email and the world of social connections, listening to Tim snore;
• checking on the garden, the plants and the outside world;
• a simple day broken down by meals and a few breaks to re-center;
• end-of-day time to put away and transition;
• exercise and moving around — tennis or a walk or a swim or spinning;
• evening with Tim or friends or a book or the TV or just the dogs;
• ending where it all began — back in bed with our four dogs, sharing belly rubs and recounting the day with Tim before the lights go out on the day.

What’s your routine?