Updated from 2015:
Despite my rebellious nature, I’ve become a slave to routine. Where my young, healthy body once took life as it happened, I now must deliberately prepare myself for each day. This takes me considerably longer now than ever before, even longer than when I had my four young boys in tow.
With the aging process grinding away on my physical self, my routine somehow became unforgiving and unappreciative of my mental self. One little skip can result in an almost immediate blunder, frustration and sometimes bruises.
The new routine is grudgingly predictable:
1. Wake up – This can take a while.
1.1. Take a thorough inventory of every joint and vertebra, then gently move them.
1.2. Be sure my brain is also awake enough to rise without injuring myself or others while getting to the bathroom and then the kitchen. Prayer typically comes into play here.
Note: I’ve come to accept (not like) the sometimes intimidating, frightening, occasionally surprising, (and embarrassing when involving witnesses,) waking process. I often inadvertently successfully integrate other tasks – mostly for fun. I.e. Prayer while in bathroom. Shame or pride? Omniscient. Omnipresent. Look them up.
2. Clean soot from floor and counters. Wood stove heat. Enough said?
3. Water and coffee (slamming sixteen ounces of water before coffee seems cruel, but empirically it’s a good practice).
3.1. I like Krups (yeah, when affordable).
3.1.1. Who are we kidding? Refillable K cups require forethought and more motion. Default to Mr. Coffee pot and microwave to reheat.
4. Bathroom time. Again, this could take a while.
4.1. Contemplate actual need for visible eyebrows.
5. Fuel – The most forgiving point, interchangeable with items 4 – 4.1. Rather than burn muscle on my power walk, I must force down food and supplements.
5.1. Disregard notion about forgiving. Do not forget fuel. (Um, I’m Out of Gas – Again story (c) 1995).
6. Stretching – With bursitis, tendinitis and joint pain I’ve learned to not minimize the importance of stretching or give into temptations to “stretch as I go”.
6.1. There are better ways to meet the neighbors than screaming, “Call 9-1-1,” from the ground.
7. Sun block. Should have learned about skin cancer attending grade school in central Arizona.
7.1. By this point the searing sun will be above the tree line. Surgical excisions are costly. Do not trifle with this.
8. Lace up, walk toward door.
8.1. Yes, you turned off the lights. If you left the coffee pot on, you need another one anyway.
8.2. Everything else can wait an hour, continue walking through the door.
8.3. Just walk away.
9. Incorporate socializing and checking on family while warming up (before heavy breathing begins).
9.1. Offspring and siblings sufficiently annoyed. Now punch it, Chewie.
10. Shower, deodorant, lotion, dress, then get to work.
10.1. I work at home, clothes are optional.
10.1.2. Gravity is rude. Forget 10.1.
All of this reaffirms my philosophy: Relax and enjoy the ride, no one gets out alive.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 (NKJV)
Go Readers. Redefine life along the way.
Featured image courtesy Pixabay
Ah, Roo, how you make me smile! And come now, are clothes and brows really that important? I think not. 😀
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Sure, Christi, easy for darling you to say. Seriously. But isn’t it funny how much has changed in four years?
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Hi C J; my nic name is also C J; standing for Charlene Joy; anyway, yes….to me I will always want my clothes and brows to look kool till I relocate to my Heavenly home….LOL. I have been picky about those things since child-hood…..just me! I guess it’s part of who I am and getting compliments at 70 is really nice!
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Really, this sounds much like my day. I can’t imagine how I used to get myself and my small children out the door before the sun rose!
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If you’re anything like me, it’s only the first hour, maybe hour-and-a-half. What’s more interesting is that daily internal dialogue, especially during the winter, wherein I try to give myself the day off, not deal with the wood stove or coffee/tea to get my engine started, etc. Pray I turn that into a read-worthy story, eh?
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Hi Jacqui; I agree with you; I don’t know how I did it either except for a bit more energy maybe? i am not a morning person and I’m not awake till after 9 a.m. really; after I’ve had my coffee, breakfast and my walk helps that along.
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Hi Roo! You know me and you know I like to suggest exercise and stretching routines, LOL. Maybe this gentle morning yoga bed routine could help you in the morning 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgobmF7iVes
Big hugs!
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Of course, David. I’m glad to look and try as the arm heals. I appreciate you, my knowledgable friend. 💚💙💛💜
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Dude, I’m decades younger, but I LOVE Rowena Harker Leder. Subscribed. Thank you so very much!
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Loved this! I, too, have been searching for a good brow product now that my hair and eyebrows are mostly white. As my hairdresser points out, natural is fine but you don’t need to look like Mrs. Claus!
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L’Oreal changed not only the formula but the brush. The new stuff is ridiculous. However, Boybrows is good, but I can’t speak for their color selection. Once you get used to the obscene brush, I like Maybeline Brow drama. You may need to get your Maybeline color on line as most stores don’t cater to we Silver Studs. Not around here anyway.
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I’m never sure what color they should be anyway. All my problems in life should be this difficult 😉
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Hahaha. Seriously, I’m learning to recognize colors that do not work for me. For instance, yellow… These blonde toned are actually shades of yellow. Oh hell no.☺ My brows are literally transparent, so I would actually be interested in trying silver or pewter if I could find it. Now that I think of it I could blend silver or pewter with yellow and that would be a really close match. But that’s just me. I love your attitude, as always, Dee, since these are my greatest challenges. If only… 😊.
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That’s funny! Mrs. Claus……I have a Ginger/Cinnamon color hair and my brows are light brown, I have to pencil them in a bit but not much. I like to go to those “brow” kiosks in the Mall and let them do what they do best because they see a lot better than I do. I can’t keep my glasses on and do my brows at the same time; if I tweak them at all….I have to sort of “feel” them……LOL!
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Haha, ever since I stopped coloring my hair I’ve spent way too much time wondering what color my eyebrows should be! I’ve read you should keep them what your natural hair color is and I have to say mine do look best as medium to dark brown like my hair used to be. I never thought to have them done by someone else. What a good idea!
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This is so much more fun than the work laid out for me today. Like minds, I would be good with that if only I could find strawberry blond. The hair color I loathed as a youngster is my crowning glory now that it’s turned silver with highlights of rose gold. Let us embrace our brows as our Achilles Ankles, eh? Your hair perfectly frames the smile that speaks volumes we have yet to interpret. Okay, now we seriously must get back to work. Happy Monday, Dee 🐛💙💚
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And to you, my dear friend!
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Thank you; I’m glad you liked my idea! Have you had a chance to check out my Blog? I have 21 posts on it and I just started in the Summer of last year. I would like to hear your thoughts too! Comments are so welcome!
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Strong eye opening share! 😘 Keep in #winning! 💕💕
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I’ll put a note in my shoe – it works better than phone notifications lately. LOL
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This made me smile! You are right, we may as well enjoy the ride the best we can!! 🙂 I believe that you do!
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Yup! That deserves a smiley but I couldn’t find one in WordPress.
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🙂
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This really helps me feel better. Thank you.
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Of course, fellows sword Sojourner. 😊
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Wonderfully expressed!! 🙂
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Thank you for saying. I needed to have some fun. Thank you for stopping 💚
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Thank heaven I am a morning person, and I don’t struggle to get going. Now night is another matter entirely! I’ll bet you can put more than two sentences together after 10 pm.
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Not at all, Anne. I used to be up between 3 and 4 a.m. now I get up but I don’t stay up. I typically roll out of the blankets around 6. The flip side of that is my brain shift into neutral around 4 p.m. don’t ask me to answer a complicated question after 5.😄
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I tell my family I’m not responsible after 6 pm.
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That’ll work!
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I think it takes longer for all of us as we get older. My routine includes the above, plus 40 minutes of physical therapy, praying and walking the dog, and a few obsessive health rituals. Just taking a prescription pill and a bunch of morning supplements, what I call “primadonna pills” (“Take on an empty stomach at least 30 minutes before eating or drinking..”), takes an hour and a half. Unless I have to be somewhere and just take them all at once. (“OK, you guys are just gonna have to get along..”) Oh well, it motivates me to make the most of the rest of the day. 😉
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Yep. ‘Sounds familiar. Thank you for stopping by 💚
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Very interesting; what would we do without II Cor. 4:16?
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Shrivel I imagine. A lot 😄.
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