Routine

I never thought about how structured and routine my life was until I had children. They immediately taught me that I had become very rigid in my routine. How shattering it was to have my routine abruptly interrupted, and time after time! Has this reaction changed over the past 5 1/2 years that I've been a parent? Yes and no! It still comes as a shock when darling son wakes up at strange times during the night (1:30 a.m. today...) It still boggles my mind when dear daughter finds it necessary to draw a picture or whatever else strikes her as we're walking out the door to go somewhere. Perspective! Darling boy has no concept of time. What he knows is that he's awake, so it must be time to get up. Dear little 5 knows only that, although we are going out, she just wants to draw this one thing while she's thinking about it, and she needs mom to get the stuff for her, then she needs to stop and process anything that comes across her radar throughout the process. What I know is that school starts in 20 min. and I've been up since 1 or 2 or 3.... This morning, around 2:30 a.m. or so, the kids asked for pancakes. Hubby said no, that they would have to wait until breakfast time. I didn't care, but knew that wouldn't change the fact that they were hungry, so I gently suggested that they'd need something to hold them over. When several minutes had passed and they had no food and were still asking for pancakes, the kids and I went and made some. I know hubby didn't really care - it just didn't fit the normal routine. Of course having a routine makes things much easier. Knowing you can rely on certain things happening at certain times is comforting. And practical. Knowing when I'll be able to relax and recharge is critical to my mental health! But it really is eye-opening to be reminded of just how stuck in our routines we can get. Perhaps an occasion reminder of this is a good thing. Why not nap at 8 a.m. when everyone else is just getting up for the day? Why not go for a drive during the night? And why not eat pancakes at 2:30 a.m.?