Every Day

 Roy and I live our lives by routine. Sometimes I feel like we're really 90 years old in our middle-aged bodies because we think like old people. We have a routine for everything:

• We buy groceries on Saturday afternoon
• We clean the house and do laundry on Sunday mornings
• We pack lunches for the week on Sunday (but sometimes Roy sneaks it in on Saturdays, much to my dismay.) It's a whole thing - this packing lunches. But we have it down and we can work side-by-side wordlessly, getting it all done in record time week after week after week.
• We go out for breakfast at Chaf In every Saturday morning if Roy isn't working (and yes, that's how it is spelled. Weird, I know. Like, did the owner really not know how to spell Inn or was his name Chaf and it was a play on words - like Hey! I'm in! I'm always baffled by that name, cocking my head a bit when I contemplate the spelling...)
• We often go out to eat mid-week at Cotton Patch though we proclaim weekly that we are going to just stay home on Wednesday evening, save the money. But once Wednesday rolls around, one of us says, "Will you be ready to go by 5?" And there we are, heading down 67 towards Cleburne, quietly reviewing the menu in our heads as we've eaten there so many times.
• We eat lunch at Lori's pretty much every Saturday. She cooks up a storm and I head over around 11:30 to help out - clean her kitchen, wipe down the counters, dry the overflying drain of dishes - while she bustles around the kitchen, stirring and pouring, and throwing laden cookie sheets of vegetables in the oven. And then around 1:00, people start piling in and it's always a crapshoot who will show up. Before long, so many people crowd the rooms that one can hardly hear oneself talk, but it's fun. Laughter and chatting and teasing and easy, silly conversation. By 2:00, we three girls (Lori, Tami and I) are back in the kitchen, cleaning it all up - though it's a pretty easy task as everything is served on paper plates. Lori pulls out the plastic to-go containers and everyone fills them up to their hearts' content so that they have leftovers for the week and Lori doesn't - that's the way she likes it. And then we all head home, our bellies full and our hearts content.
• Saturday nights are spent with Tami and Chas. I get the popcorn started in the whirly-pop and then Chas takes over as he has this special way of buttering and salting that makes his popcorn exquisite. We slice up fruit - apples, oranges, grapes - whatever we have on hand - and then we settle down to watch a movie. Usually Roy falls asleep on the loveseat and Tami falls asleep on the couch, leaving just Chas and me to watch until the end. It's a standing joke to see who will fall asleep first - Roy or Tami, but as they both wake up for the ending, we call it a wash and bid Tami and Chas goodnight as they walk out the door. Pre-Covid we often went to the movie theater on Saturday nights, loading up on popcorn and a drink and sometimes a box of candy...(gosh I don't know why I can't lose this 20 pounds...), but of course, post-Covid movie theaters leave a lot to be desired so...Amazon Prime has to suffice.
• Most evenings I walk Piper and Tami and Chas walk Koda together. We have a little 1.2 mile loop that we follow - up the road until it dead ends, loop around the church, and back. We chatter away the entire time, stopping for Piper to do his business - which can take awhile, let me say - and hollering at Koda who likes to furiously scratch at the strap that goes across his nose that keeps him from pulling. We steer away from the Australian shepherd that barks frantically at us, pulling desperately at the rope that keeps him tied in his yard. (His owners are fabulous and he is well-loved so no worries about this guy.)

There's more. I could keep going but I will spare you any more regulars of daily life in the Seals household. Sometimes I wonder - does everyone live this way? Daily life so predictable that one could live it with one's eyes closed? Maybe so...

But it's a good life. I can't complain. And I know that life changes by shades. Little things happen that disrupt the daily and cause everything to adjust to the shift...until the day comes when one looks back and everything is different. Everything. Routines have come and gone. New routines have woven themselves into the fabric of life until they create the carbon copies of daily living.

And so I try to stay out of my head and stay present - aware of the gift I have to live this life I have. I am blessed beyond measure. The people in my circle are good folks. 

It's Sunday morning. Roy is putting on his boots to go out and mow the lawn. He piled the laundry on the bed and sorted it by color so that he could help me out on the laundry just before he came into the living room. I just finished my morning coffee  and am about ready to start the cleaning routine. I'll grab my earbuds and start my audiobook - Renaissance Girls, and I'll listen attentively while I mindlessly wipe down counters and dust the piano. 

And before long, Roy will come in, his pants covered in grass, and say, "Hey, come sweep me off and I'll come in and shower. How about Texas Roadhouse for lunch?"

It's going to be a great day.