Routine Business

As this pandemic began, and our lives were sent through a whirlwind of confusion and uncertainty, it not only effected our school, work and social lives, but our daily lives as well. No longer could we run through our morning and evening routines like we always had. Now, all of a sudden, we had full 24-hour periods that needed filled and family members that needed entertaining. Each day brought along its own adventures, which led many of us to get creative with the activities we once enjoyed in public. Since all of our work and classes were being performed at home, why not workout at home, prepare more meals at home and find hobbies which can be completed at home, too! Our homes became our center, our whole world. But this kind of change requires some rewiring of our daily routines.

It's 8 A.M. and time to rise! Open the curtains, make the bed, brush your teeth and head down for breakfast. Get out all of the ingredients to prepare a delicious and healthy bowl of oatmeal – oats, chia seeds, flax seeds, roasted pecans, almond slices, peanut butter, cinnamon, unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Whip it all together, heat it up and enjoy a spoonful of bliss! After the bowl is empty and the main social media accounts have been scrolled through, head back upstairs to get dressed. This first outfit consists of a t-shirt/racerback tank top, stylish capris, black Nike sneakers and a baseball hat. Stretch out your arms and legs, take a sip or two of water, grab your earbuds and off you go for your morning run! Fast-forward 30 minutes and now that you're invigorated, albeit a bit sweaty, you are ready to change into outfit number two and conquer the day!

Now, the day is rolling to an end, 11 hours later, and you're excited for sleep soon, but not before a few final tasks. First you brew yourself a cozy mug of honey vanilla chamomile tea. As that cools, you take off your jewelry, get changed for your third and final time into your comfy pajamas and wash your face in the bathroom sink. Returning to the tea, you bring along the book you've been reading and curl up in the corner to read a chapter or two, far away from any electronic device. Once the tea and the book have done their job and lulled you into a daze, you can switch the lights out and recede to your bed for a restful nights sleep!

I never imagined that I'd have the enthusiasm to get up and run each morning or sit back and read each night. However, the changes encouraged by our current state of being have altered my outlook on life. I went from barely being able to run a mile, and only doing so because I needed a way to channel my stress, to running 2.3 miles a day with a goal of running a 5K by mid-October! And I am doing so because it excites me and provides a wonderful start to my day! On the flip side, in the evenings, I have been able to read my way through so many books which have been on my list for quite some time! Stories and memoirs, sci-fi and thrillers, I've found a new piece of myself in the words and the characters of each new book.

While these two routines, the morning and the evening, stay the same, it's the afternoon stretch of time which varies from day to day, week to week. It is during these times when I try my best to branch out and explore new territory. Visiting parks or walking trails, writing to pen pals or designing my bullet journal, trying new recipes or reading new books, connecting with current friends or reaching out to past ones, applying to jobs or completing certification trainings. Each day is a new adventure, and that is one thing that did not change with the dawn of this pandemic, it all just depends on how you use that time!