Routine

Since we moved I've had a really hard time getting into a routine. I don't think I really realized just how much I thrive on a routine until I lost mine. In Germany, I got up in the morning, took my shower, got the kids up and ready to go (P. was usually already gone to work by this time), and finished getting ready myself. We left the house and I got them to their daycare centers in time for breakfast. Then I would stop at the Shoppette on post for coffee on my way to work, and my work day started at 8 a.m. I stayed busy throughout the day, and usually took an hour to have lunch with hubby, and sometimes friends.

After work on Tuesdays and Thursdays P. would pick up the kids and I would go to spinning class with Aura at the gym. Every night after work, I would do school work since I'm trying to finish my degree. This is how my schedule was until our moving schedule made this routine impossible. Once we were down to one car, it was pretty much impossible for me to get away. I quit my job in Vilseck a couple of weeks before we moved, and was pretty much a woman of leisure for a few weeks. Sounds great, right?

Wrong. I love my new flexible schedule. I do the same job here that I did in Germany, but I'm now a contractor and work at home. It's awesome. I still put in the same number of hours a week, but have flexibility to do the things I need to do during the day. My problem is that sometimes I'm not strict enough on myself during business hours. I start my work day later than I would have otherwise, take longer lunches, or do other things during the day that I may not have been able to do before. So then I end up working later in the evenings or on the weekends. It actually works for me, though, since P. is working later these days.

Today, however, I got a phone call, and my company needs me to do more onsite at the hospital for the rest of this month. It's not a problem for me, except for the fact that I'm just starting to get into a workout schedule. Three days a week I had planned an hour in the morning for a fitness class, and two hours the other two days of the week. I had a sick kid this week, and I was feeling kind of blah a couple of days myself, so I had hoped to get more into the schedule starting next week. I guess I'll have to rearrange it and hope that P. will be able to help me out by being home early enough for the next couple of weeks for me to make it to later classes.

Oh well. I guess starting the first part of October I'll have to strive to be stricter with myself and to set and keep a pretty regular schedule. I work better that way. Things will get a bit easier when I finish my degree this coming spring, although I am debating whether or not to go ahead and finish my Master's. Oh well...I'll cross that bridge when I come to it I guess.