I don’t lead a boring life, not really. I’m not a creature of habit either. I prefer to think that I have a structured, organized life. Some of my time is scheduled for me by others, some things just seem to happen randomly..on a daily basis.
I start my day by hitting the snooze alarm at 5:30am. I hit the snooze because my wife does not want to wake up at 5:30am, but she does want the alarm to go off at 5:30am. At 5:37am I hit the button on the alarm clock again and nudge my wife to get up because she doesn’t always hear the alarm the second time. She usually doesn’t hear it the first time either. At that point I switch the alarm to the dual setting which will go off at 6:10am and I go back to sleep.
At 6:10am I hit the alarm again and get up. As I get up and turn on the closet light to get dressed, I seem to hear 3 little muffled voices coming from the dogs that appear to say, “Turn out that light...” at which point the dogs continue not moving and go back to sleep. I dress, hoping my shoes and socks match then go into the living room where we say prayer and then I take my son to seminary, picking up two boys on the way. I then return home and get in the hot tub for a few minutes.
My wife leaves about 7:00am to go to school too early for a job that doesn’t pay her anywhere near what she’s worth. M-W-F my daughter sleeps in until almost noon then goes to work. T-Th she also leaves at 7:00am for college. The dogs and I have a peaceful morning. I start mine by reading scriptures. I’m on a long term project reading the Bible in Spanish. I’m almost done with the Old Testament.
At 8:00am I try to join a radio net, like a chat room on the ham radio, for Texas Army Mars. This is an auxiliary of the Texas State Guard that assists in emergency communications in times of disaster or military emergency. There are usually about a dozen of us around the state who talk together, but the network includes over a hundred other ham radio operators. The net lasts an hour.
At 9:00am I either start errands, chores or watch TV, you can guess what the default activity is. In the last year I worked through all 10 seasons of Stargate SG-1. While watching anything I go through jobsites online. I have come to understand the statement of a middle aged bachelor friend of ours from Omaha who said, “As I get older I find I get more particular and less desirable.” There are ruts that form while looking for work. Those ruts usually keep the search from veering in different directions. I firmly believe I need to be looking for work somewhere different, but I seem to have settled into believing THE job is at one of the companies I look check out daily.
Sometimes I run errand for and with a handicapped friend. He can no longer get either himself or his wheelchair in and out of his vehicle without help. At 12:40pm I pick up my son from school and we go home for lunch. If my friend and I go to lunch, we are gone a couple of hours, otherwise my son and I eat then watch a movie. We do things outside if the weather is good. I’ve kayaked, fished and done yard work, depending on the mood.
My underpaid wife gets home any time from 4:00pm to 6:30pm, depending on how the school decides to use her time. We then eat dinner with up to 11 of our children and grandkids depending on what we are having and who is available. Evening activities depend on whether we need to go to the store or not. If not, we watch something. If we need to go to the store, we may record something.
Around 10:00pm we read scriptures together as a family, say prayers and share hugs. If we are awake enough we hot tub before bed, then start the routine all over again.
I’d write some more about extracurricular activities, but it’s time to go pick up my son. I actually have an alarm on my watch for that.
Twist
