"The less routine the more life"

The quote "The less routine the more life" really hit home today when I was thinking about how happy I was that it was Monday and we are back to a "normal" routine. What? Back up....Did I just say that?!? I was happy that it's Monday and happy about a routine?!?!?


The older I get the more routine and order I need in my life to feel like things are getting done. I used to make fun of my Mammaw for always having her finicky routines but now I see why she had them (I will get to that later). It seems that when the weekend arrives everything goes to "hell in a hen basket" in the Beemer house. It's like two days of complete chaos and nothing gets accomplished except for a bigger mess to clean and more laundry to wash/dry/fold/put away. I get completely overwhelmed and stressed out on Sunday evenings just thinking about what all I have to get done on Tuesday (B's preschool day)! Thanks OCD & Mammaw!


My Mammaw had a routine for everything and when I say everything I mean E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G!She had a day for laundry, a day for washing the porches, a day for cleaning the windows, a day for sweeping, mopping and vacuuming (that day we were thrown out of the house and you couldn't walk on the floors for at least an hour), a day to clean the kitchen and bathroom and a day to do yard work. On Sundays, she went to church and cooked the family a big lunch that started at approximately 1:00 and you were not to be a minute late (DAD!). I think I have all 7 days of chores listed but I may have forgotten or left off a few. All I do know is that 24/7 of my Mammaw's life was a routine it was never out of order until she was diagnosed with Leukemia.


Growing up, I detested my Mammaw's routines and thought she was crazy for having so much order in her life. I mean everything had order in her life right down to her undergarments which I swear, she pressed. Her ways were so finicky that it drove me and my parents completely batty so we would make fun of her and find ways to ruffle her feathers. She would spends at least 10 minutes on each chair at the kitchen and dining room table making sure they were perfectly aligned. She had the notorious fake fruit bowl as a center piece on the kitchen table that nobody was to touch....so what did we do?!?! We would rearrange the fruit and walk away giggling while she was in the kitchen putting the fruit back the way she had it as she was (cussing)mumbling under her breath. I swore I would never, ever, ever be like her...little did I know I would be a spitting image of her at 32 years old.


Now I know why she did it and how it made her feel when others didn't understand the method to her madness. She suffered from OCD and at that time nobody really knew what it was. We just thought she liked order and was very particular about it. I am the exact.same.way. After my Mammaw passed away her ways somehow entered my body and I have now taken over her OCD habits. Neither one of us had "rituals" that we had/have to perform we just want(ed) order in every aspect of our life. My family does things that they know will ruffle my feathers and they get a kick out of it. They leave dishes in the sink instead of putting them in the dishwasher. Cabinet doors are left wide open instead of being shut. They also leave table tops and counter spaces cluttered with papers instead of neatly stacked. My husband is notorious about squeezing the toothpaste tube from the middle and not the bottom. They never replace the paper towel & toilet paper holders when empty. They fail to tighten the caps on anything and everything in the kitchen....yadda, yadda, yadda. They honestly aren't lazy nor mean-spirited, they just do it to get a good laugh & "rise" out of me.

My other "irritants" are that I can't stand being late and I get very annoyed when things are off schedule. I like the labels on all of my things facing out. All of my hangers have to be in a certain direction & I do not allow WIRE hangers in our closets (I am nicer than Mommy Dearest, I promise). I have a fruit bowl and every piece of fruit has it's place. My cans & boxes in the pantry have to be neatly aligned and organized by the labels.I can't stand streaks on my stainless steel appliances. My picture frames have to be positioned a certain way/angle. I will stop now before I go on and on and on about all of my crazy ways. I know you are thinking I am completely off my rocker; I know my husband and Victoria question my sanity at times, lol.


Now, I wish I could take back all of those times I messed Mammaw's fruit bowl up, left a dirty fingerprint on one of her mirrors, turned a book upside down in her bookcase and messed with her pillows on the bed. I know how those little things turned her entire world and routine upside down. It probably engulfed her with rage but she was such a sweet person that I would never see that side of her nor would anyone else. She would quietly fix whatever was messed up and go on about her routine for the day. 


So, when I ran across the quote "The Less Routine the more Life" it was like a light bulb went off. I need to stop with all of the extra nonsense and live life. I know I can't change overnight but I can take it day by day so.........




Maybe*just maybe* I will leave Brody's blocks, cars and scooter stay where they are (all over the living room floor) until tomorrow.