Ditch the Old Routines for New Ones

“When in Rome do as the Romans do.”

Isn’t that the saying? The Northwoods of Wisconsin is probably as far from Rome as you can get, but as we find ourselves in a new place, I think it also calls for a resetting of routines. My husband thought that I could kayak with him as he swims across the small lake on which we have our cabin and a dock. But since we’ve had wind causing choppy waters, that didn’t happen.

Yesterday was calm so I suggested a tandem kayak ride in the early afternoon. It was nice. We had a leisurely pace and made a loop around the one end of the lake before heading back to the dock. It was overcast but about 75 degrees and not breezy. We both enjoyed it. I can use the exercise for my arms. Even though I’m not a grandma yet, I think I’m getting “flabby grandma arms!” I don’t think we’ll kayak every day, but a few times a week would be a good habit to get into.

Wednesdays were also my day to walk with a friend when we lived near La Crosse. She and I intended to connect for a virtual walk and talk at the same time each week, still Wednesday. But as I thought about it, it just didn’t seem right to keep doing the same thing I was doing before I moved. So, last week, I asked if we could wait a week to talk. She agreed. And, yesterday, she called at the designated time but I was relaxing on our deck. I called her back after dinner. It felt better to me to not do “exactly” the same thing “in a different” place.

We used to clean on Wednesdays. Unpacking, dog hair, wet feet, and boxes have led to the need to set a new cleaning routine soon.

We cleaned before we had company for the Fourth of July but will need to do so again soon. I wonder what day we’ll pick for that routine.

Garbage day is Wednesday or Saturday. We have to take our garbage and recycling out on those days. Not out to the street but out to a centralized location for the town. We have no official cans for garbage from the town, although we have bags and have to use their bags to put garbage in. We can burn paper and bought a burn can to do that safely.

We are settling in. But, things will be different here. New place. New routines. It’ll all get sorted out once we are here for a while. I like a routine but don’t want to force my old routine into a place we used to go to escape everyday life. We made a significant change by moving. It’s time for other changes too.

The one routine I don’t want to break is my writing habit. And, so far, I’ve been able to keep at it. I hope that continues as the new routines set in.

Originally published at http://theapplesinmyorchard.com on July 7, 2022.