Day in the Life- Just Another Monday
I never do DITL posts, because I feel like my life is unexciting. But today at breakfast I was pondering Mondays, and thought I would document this one. You know… just for the fun of it. The day starts at 5:30 am. Sigh. This is what happens when you have a daughter in high school. I stumble out of bed, wake up my daughter and start the morning routine: feed the cats, make my daughter’s breakfast and pack her lunch. You might be thinking- your daughter is 15! Can’t she make her own breakfast and lunch? Well… if I didn’t make her breakfast, she wouldn’t eat anything and I’m not okay with that. Same with lunch. If I didn’t pack a lunch, I’m pretty sure she would just buy something from the vending machine at school. Again- not okay. Yesterday- Sunday- I did a long trail run, which means I don’t have a big workout this morning. Other days I’ll run or go to the gym, but lately Mondays have been a much easier day. The only thing that’s sore from yesterday’s run are my quads, so I cue up a Glutes and Core workout from my app. I do half of the workout, drive my daughter to school, and then come back and finish it. Because it’s an easier workout day, I have time for a nice, leisurely breakfast! I eat my oatmeal while reading blogs, and then linger with my tea while I update my planner for the week, and write in my journal. The journal is a relatively new thing, an attempt to “Write 24 in 24.” Some days I do it, some days I don’t. I’m taking Gretchen Rubin’s advice here- “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” No, that’s not a Starbucks drink. It’s my own tea which I drank from a used Starbucks cup. Sometimes I do that if I know I’ll be taking the rest of my tea along when I go to work. Yes, I know there’s such a thing as a travel mug. 9:30- leave for work. Oh look! There’s a new podcast: At this point you’re probably thinking, “Jenny! What are you DOING with your life? Drinking out of old Starbucks cups and listening to Christmas podcasts in April?” Well- this is a podcast I normally listen to in December, but they release new episodes now and then throughout the year. Arrive at work- this is where the gentle part of the day ends. In order to be at work fewer hours, I work 10-3, doing five massages in a row with no break. It’s pretty intense, and some days I’m still questioning this schedule. Somewhere in the middle between clients I gulp down a protein shake (just a scoop of protein powder mixed with water.) Oof. On some days I finish work and race to the school to pick up my daughter- but today she doesn’t need to bring her guitar home, so she can take the bus! And it’s Earth Day! Over the weekend I got an email from Sprouts saying I could get a free shopping bag if I go today. A free bag? I’m there! I get a weird assortment of groceries from Sprouts: Ezekial bread, cereal, nuts, broccoli and beer (I did our main shopping on Sunday.) Then I get in line behind a woman with a HUGE cartful of groceries. Because I’m nosy, I watch her check out. It looks like she’s buying a week’s worth of groceries for a large family- bread, cereal, cheese, apples, potatoes… nothing big and expensive, just a LOT of food. Her bill comes to $410. Ouch. I get a protein bar to eat on the way home- I’ve been trying not to eat these anymore because they contain erythritol, which is one of the things I’m avoiding. But that’s what happens when you go to the store hungry. After all that, I’m given the cheapest, cheesiest bag ever. Had I bought it, it would have cost me 79 cents. Hmmm. 4:00- Home! It’s my daughter’s flute lesson day. The good news is, the teacher comes to our house. The bad news is… this means I have to clean the house. This woman has been coming weekly for almost four years, and has never once used our bathroom. Unbeknownst to her, this makes her a gold-star guest. But there’s a first time for everything so I clean the bathroom just in case. 5:00- nap. Ahhhhhh…. 5:30- start throwing dinner together. My husband and daughter are having leftover pasta, and my dinner involves a baked sweet potato. We’re all having roasted cauliflower and I add white beans and a tahini sauce to my meal. After dinner the countdown is on- I’m just looking forward to getting in bed so I can read. Dishes, cleaning the kitchen, laundry (some nights, but not tonight) and taking care of all the critters. This night has an added twist though- my son’s college orchestra has a concert, which is live streamed! It cuts into my reading time, but it’s worth it. So incredible that he plays a concert in Texas, and we can watch it in Florida. Reading in bed- the goal is to turn the lights off and go to sleep at 9:30- that hasn’t happened lately though. It’s been more like 10:00 or 10:30 AT THE LATEST. Just as I thought… my life is officially dull! Top photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash