Routines. They are comfortable, safe, predictable and I tend to thrive on them.
Maybe it is my personality or maybe, personality aside, we all, as humans, need routines to give us a sense of rhythm and ritual in our daily lives.
Routines may help us feel in control when other parts of our lives seem askew. They give us a feeling that all is right with the world, a sense of normalcy to our being here, alive, on planet earth.
Routines may change with the seasons; the calendar seasons and the seasons of our lives.
Routines tend to be what we actually do in our day-to-day lives. The getting up, eating breakfast, going to work, fixing dinner, watching the news, reading before bed. Traditions, in contrast, tend to be what we do on a more quarterly or yearly basis, and are often in celebration of a holiday like Christmas or New Years, or a shift in the seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter. We tend do traditions with other people; family, friends.
Routines are the daily stuff of life, personal or shared with those in your household. The things we need to do to prepare and prep ourselves for the day to come, both morning and evening.
Our daily routine goes something like this:
Our radio alarm goes off at 5:45a. I generally hit the snooze button once. I find that I need the nine minutes of time before it goes off again to get myself used to the idea that it's time to get up and start the day.
Once up, I head downstairs for a 10 minute-ish time with a devotional book and prayer (I'm currently going through Prayers for Today by Kurt Bjorklund) while Adam goes outside to water the garden. We meet in the kitchen a little after 6a. I take my vitamins (Probiotic, multi and cod liver oil -- that stuff is disgusting, fyi) while Adam puts the dishes away. I start some water for tea, Adam pours his cereal and preps his coffee. I either make a smoothie, have cereal or, in the summer, eat overnight oatmeal (See recipe at end).
After breakfast we have a little devotional reading together and pray for our family members who have birthdays in the month we happen to be in. That routine started a number of years ago and I love it because we pray for each member of our family for a month every year. It's also nice because between Adam's family and mine we have every month covered. 
After breakfast we make our lunch for the day (Adam's hardcore go-to is peanut butter and jelly, pretzels and fruit. People, I've tried to get him to vary this...only on occasion has it actually worked. My sister said she admires him for his devotion to his PBJ; mostly because her husband eats out a lot for lunch and that annoys her. They're working on it too). I get two strips of sweet peppers and a chard leaf from the fridge, the guinea pigs' morning 'salad', before heading upstairs with the veggies and my cup of tea. I open the downstairs blinds and curtains on my way up. Adam does the dishes.
The guinea pigs hear me walk up the stairs and they know what's coming -- veggies! They start squeaking and munch happily (Or greedily?!) on their treats when I give it to them.
I make the bed and get dressed for the day; enjoying my tea as I do so. Clothes on, face washed, teeth brushed, deodorant applied, hair combed -- there is something satisfying with the daily morning routine for me; there's a beauty and a simplicity to it that makes me happy and contented.
After Adam is done with the dishes, he heads upstairs and reads one chapter of the Bible as I look for a ten minute exercise video on YouTube; something to get the blood flowing and energize me for the day. We exercise (I know, why don't we do this first thing after waking?) and Adam gets read for his shower and I get ready to leave. The day has started. The drive to work, the work day with it's own routine, the drive home.
Coming home from work I grab the mail on the way inside, drop everything on our hall table. I hang my purse up, open the mail, put my dirty lunch dishes in the sink, refill my water bottle and put it by the door for the next day. I go upstairs and say hi to the piggies and try to relax for a few minutes before getting dinner started. Adam gets home after six and we eat...sometimes leisurely, sometimes not, depends on what the evening plans are.
For our evening routine I prep my oatmeal for the next morning, shut the blinds and curtains and the door that leads to our backstairs. I shower, maybe do some yoga and then I read for half hour to an hour (I'm currently reading The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw) before sleeping.
This is our typical morning and evening routine. I know it will shift and change as life moves forward, but for now, this is it. What is your routine? What do you like about it? Find comforting? Do you find a simple beauty in yours as I do mine?
Overnight Oatmeal Recipe
I say 'recipe' loosely because I don't generally measure anything besides the oatmeal. The measurements given are a guideline to help you recreate it. Soaking the oats help break down the phylatic acid in the oats, making it easier for your tummy to digest.
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 raisins
1 - 2 Tb sunflower seeds, toasted
2 Tb sesame seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla
1 - 2 Tbs honey
I put everything in a mason jar and cover with water, just enough to cover everything. Don't drown it! I put the lid on and stick it in the fridge and let it soak overnight. In the morning I scoop the soaked oatmeal mixture into a bowl and add almond milk. Sometimes I'll add chopped fruit too.
This is easy to vary with what I have on hand. Mix it up with flaxseeds, chia seeds, dried cranberries or other dried fruit, nuts, vary the spices or add cocoa powder. Enjoy!
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