I recognized when Weber retired that he lost track of the days of the week. He'd ask me what time I'd be home and I'd say something like, "Well, it's Wednesday and I teach until 3:30 so I should be ready to come home around 4:30, just like every Wednesday." His response was always the same..."I forgot what day it is." Then, I couldn't wrap my head around this absolute disconnect from day and time, but now I am beginning to get it. When you have been used to a rigid daily and weekly schedule and all of the sudden you don't have that, its absence is a bit crazy-making.
Most days this summer, we have no real need to set an alarm clock. We rely on the canines to wake us up. That can happen anywhere between 5:30 am and 9 depending on how late we all stayed up, how cozy they are in bed, or how hungry they are. Essentially, we all get up when we get up, whenever the dogs are ready to get up. And breakfast occurs equally as leisurely. There is time for as many cups of coffee as I can drink without floating away. I have time to enjoy my breakfast rather than slamming it down just because I know I need to eat or I won't survive six hours straight in the classroom. Or, we can even go out for breakfast...on a Thursday! At least I think it was a Thursday.
Sometimes lunch happens and sometimes it doesn't. That too depends on how late the dogs sleep. If we sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast, it may be almost lunchtime before we are done eating and cleaning up. Even though the clock says that it is lunchtime, no one's hungry. When it gets to be mid afternoon and the hunger pangs start, it's almost dinnertime so we skip lunch. Sometimes. Or we might just move dinner.
Like getting up, dinnertime can be a movable feast, happening anywhere between 5 and 9. There is no real reason for it to be routine. Lol!
For someone who is a slave to her planner and calendar most of the, this free form lifestyle is disconcerting and hard to get used to! I feel out of control, but there is little for there to be control of.
I spent all day today convinced that it was Saturday. It felt like Saturday because we were home most of the day. I took a short nap this afternoon, usually a Saturday occurrence. We also had symphony tickets for tonight, again, usually a Saturday night event. We got home and I realized that its only Friday so I don't have to set an alarm for church tomorrow morning. Woohoo. Now if the canines will just sleep late tomorrow morning! And I need to remember that tomorrow night is Saturday and I do need to set an alarm for church on Sunday morning.
Is this what it will feel like once I retire? There will be Sunday, church day, and then one other day each week, a 144 hour day, created from all the other days of the week that have all melded together into one big duration. I don't know about this. Without my planner and my routine, I may never accomplish anything ever again!
Oh, you mean I have to create a new routine???
But I don't know what day it is!
The only consistency in our week right now are the trash days. How pathetic that trash days are becoming the defining moments in my week, assuming I can figure out when Monday and Thursday are actually happening!
Maybe I need to find more consistent things to be doing over the summer.
Or. maybe it doesn't matter what day it is.
I'll think about that tomorrow, Tuesday.
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Here is something for you to think about...name three consecutive days without using the names of any of the days of the week.
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Today's photo prompt was Sports. The only sport happening in my world was amateur pie crust wrestling...and professional napping, but that picture would not have been pretty! :-)
