Monday, July 19, 2010

routines and traditions


i like routines.
i am not quite sure why, i am sure some psychologist would have a field day with the whys.  
that is neither here nor there.
i guess i find comfort in counting on certain things, rhythms and a certain amount of predictability to my days.  
we eat dinner together every night.  i like that.  i almost always cook the meal.  we used to eat out a ton in our twenties.  we both worked in the restaurant industry and when you spend your entire day around food and serving others, the last thing i wanted to do was come home and cook more.  after k & c were born that completely shifted.  so hubby gets home, we eat.  then we busy ourselves with stuff til bedtimes (again a routine).  just the other night we shook things up and packed up and went to the beach after dinner. (not routine).  it was the best! so much so we have done it every night after dinner now 3 days running.  i am calling it our new tradition.  we live close to the beach though we still need to drive to get there having 2 small kids and all the stuff that goes with 2 small kids who want to play at the beach.  kite towels shovels buckets drinks snacks... you get the picture.  i think maybe that is why we have not made this a habit before, the idea of packing up-driving down- finding parking... blah blah blah.  now i just leave it all in the car.  who cares how sandy it is?  not me. all we have to do is suit up and go.  this huge natural playground is right there!  the kids get to run and play and jump and boogie board (that is new) and get really tired in this huge wide open almost empty beach.  see, others have not caught onto this routine either it appears, hence the empty beach.  they are not fighting, messing up the house because they are bored, not bugging to watch tv or use the computer,  they are just playing hard. and we are watching them and i can feel myself relaxing, my shoulders loosening, me laughing at their antics.  how have we lived here 3 plus years and not made this a routine before?  really i have no words.  no answers.  i am still figuratively shaking my head at my own cluelessness.  like a huge lightbulb just went on.  i guess i am very glad it did, but part of me is also kicking myself a little for having it take so long to click.  sure some nights it will rain and we will have to stay home,  but for all the others nights you will now know were to find us.  yay for new routines!  i just wish i wasn't such a slow learner some days.  

8 comments:

Marty said...

Well, I commented on one of the jump photos at your Flickr and then I found your blog...how have I missed it all this time?
I'm a little anxious about our beaches down here in the FL panhandle. Evidence of the oil spill is creeping in although ii didn't look as bad as I expected. My heart breaks though at the damage done...underneath where we can't easily see.
But I sat there Saturday afternoon, closed my eyes and...breathed in the salty smell, felt the wind, listened to the waves and just...let go.
Going back today ;-)

kristen said...

i'm a nomad in my heart and very much a creature of habit and routine. you've inspired me to push myself beyond my comfort zone AND because we also live very close to the beach, i think this sounds like a great new addition to our routine.

Kylie said...

We live next to a lake, but in the summertime (winter here)we haven't yet made a routine to go down to the lake every night ... I think i would say the 'packing up the car with all the things little kids need' is what has stopped us previous summers ... but i think this will be the year that tradition starts :o)
love the shot ... incredible colours!
x

ELK said...

glad you are doing this...it will be a happy memory later as they get older

Maegan Beishline said...

That sounds like a wonderful new tradition!

jodi said...

better late than never. sounds like a wonderful new tradition.

Jakki said...

goodness, i struggle with trying to or actually have a break in my routine...i think its the whole 'but what-if???' that scares the mess out of me. but hey...what if the 'what-if' is good and spontaneous fun?? its worth a try to see what i can get myself into.

Anne said...

Kristin, what a perfect and perfectly fun new routine you have added to your lives.

Please don't be so hard on yourself....if you were meant to know everything all at once, well, then you wouldn't be human!