I decided that Rhythm would be my WOTY and one way I'm trying to establish a rhythm is by keeping a very brief daily diary, to watch for daily and weekly patterns to develop and to be intentional about keeping the good ones going. This month's edition is going to be especially brief for a couple of reasons. First, because it's late on the 29th and I'm trying to wrap up a few bloggy things before I go to bed. Second, because we really have established a pretty consistent rhythm of life from week to week, and for the most part this month was pretty routine! I suppose that was my goal with this WOTY, right? A regular rhythm of life to provide a steady framework for the repeating melodic themes and their variations.
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Week One - I always find it satisfying when a month starts on a Sunday or Monday, or ends on a Friday or Saturday. Weird, I know. September1st was a Sunday so we went to church and both of us were on worship team that week. We kept our lunch light and our usual nap short so we could go to the Greek Festival in the later afternoon. We had dinner there and it was amazing! Monday was Labor Day, and we were invited to a potluck dinner with a group of church families. That was an amazing meal and a wonderful time getting better acquainted with a few people. We did go for a walk in the evening and phoned family. Back to work on Tuesday, and the rest of the week was the usual. We went to the baseball game with our son and his family on Thursday evening - another beautiful night for a ball game! On Saturday morning I went to get my hair cut - it really needed it! - and in the evening we wet to a Buckeyes viewing party with the 55+ group from church.
Week Two - Another week that started with church and worship team. We went out for lunch and did the grocery shopping together. I prefer doing at least one grocery shopping trip a week together. The work week was a standard one, with a couple of different things in the evenings. The Monday night chorus rehearsal was an important one - the last one before the show! On Tuesday night we went to another baseball game, and afterwards phoned my mom and worked on plans for their upcoming visit. On Friday I hurried home from work to do the final preparations before our daughter and her boyfriend arrived for the weekend! The weekend was a busy and special one. On Saturday morning, hubby went to work for a little bit while I took the kids out for breakfast to a local coffee shop. Dan had some schoolwork to work on and Kennady and I visited and tried not to distract him too much. After lunch, I finished packing my chorus stuff and got dropped off at the theater venue. I helped set up all the silent auction stuff and then we had our final rehearsal time on stage. Then it was time to dress and do makeup, do makeup checks, and have a light bite to eat before showtime. The show was fantastic, in my opinion, and my family members and couple of friends that attended really enjoyed it and were very complimentary! Our family went out for hot dogs after the show - quite a contrast, this hipster type hot dog bar when we'd just come from a "star-studded gala" performance in an upscale theater! My husband kidded me that I was rather overdressed for the place! It was really good though - and I promised myself I'd remember the drink I had so I could try to make it. Basically a float with espresso, cream soda, and ice cream.
Week Three - On Sunday morning, Kennady and Dan needed to get on the road early, so since I was NOT on worship team this week, it worked out well for me to take them out to Tim Hortons for breakfast before they left and I headed to church. Later on Sunday, hubby played hockey after having been out for a few weeks. Other than having Monday evening off (no rehearsal after the show!) the week was a very standard one. Back to the very regular rhythm of work. We even took it easy on Saturday and didn't do anything special.
Week Four - After church on Sunday we had a light lunch and then went to Timbuk Farms with the kids to try the corn maze and see the sunflower fields. We wound up cutting short our exploration of the maze and instead spent some time in the playground area and took lots of pictures in the sunflower field. This week was also a very regular rhythm one in terms of just going to work each day and doing the usual things in the evening. The chorus was back to rehearsal on Monday, of course. On a couple of evenings I actually sat down to watch some TV with hubby. I've watched only bits and pieces of the show Only Murders in the Building but wanted to watch the whole thing, so we went back to Season 1 and are working our way through it. Such a funny show! Saturday started out rather lazy as we slept late. It was a rainy day so we didn't got outside at all, but I did bake some banana bread and looked after a couple of inside projects. We had tickets to the Blue Jackets game in the evening - the first of quite a few games we'll go to this season, since we are sharing a season ticket package with friends!
Today we went to church and then picked up pizza for lunch. Enjoyed a long nap this afternoon, and attended a gathering of the 55+ group at church. Tomorrow, the last day of September, will see a return to the regular rhythm of another work week, as far as we know.
Before I close, I want to remind myself and anyone reading that life's rhythm has been dramatically and tragically interrupted for so many people affected by Hurricane Helene. Let's remember to pray for these families and communities, and if we have the means to help, let's do so.
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Rhythm is my Word of The Year for 2024 because I realized I'd need to adjust my routines and work on my time management as I started a full time work schedule, and I couldn't be striving or fighting all the time - I need to establish a healthy, balanced rhythm to my days and weeks. And additionally, in the last part of 2023, I felt like God had really been speaking to me about the subject of Sabbath, and that he was inviting me to be more intentional about practicing and celebrating a Sabbath rhythm in my life. Here's my WOTY post to explain: WQ - Rhythm Inspires
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It sounds like you really have found your rhythm for the most part (though it so easy for even small things to throw that off isn't it?). We have houseguests this week-- they just came last night and already this morning we're all finding we have to slightly tweak and adjust our routines to work around one another but I keep reminding myself and my boys that it's just for a week.
ReplyDeleteThat's true - even little changes to the routine require more adjustments than we anticipate. I hope you're enjoying the time with your guests - I expect my October will be like that, as the second half of the month we'll have guests and will be going on a couple of short trips, and we're planning to switch up quite a few things at home to accommodate our guests. But it's all good and I'm looking forward to it! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteI have longed for routine in my life and the more I crave having days that are calm and look similar, from one to the other, LIFE has a way of throwing a monkey wrench into things. And my longed for routine goes out the window. Maybe I need to switch up my thinking and seek rhythm rather than routine.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you have established and settled into a rhythm. I think that just makes life easier!! And I like knowing what I am doing each day. PC and I are having to remember to consult with each other about the coming day's plans and activities now that he is retired. I really worried about these first months would go but with this bum foot, I am just having to go along for the ride right now.
Sounds like the show was a big success and hot dogs after sound lovely. My mom loved a chain hot dog restaurant in Kentucky...I can't remember the name...but it was a big treat for her.
Hope October is a delightful month for you and your family.