Daily life...

A routine is not necessarily a bad thing!

A blog entry inspired by an email to my friend Ursula Grenter.

Never underestimate the positive power of a good rut. Because, yes, there is such a thing!

So what is a rut?  The dictionary (Free dictionary link) defines it as ‘a fixed and usually boring, routine’

Well I am in a rut.  It is comfortable.  And I am not bored!

I don’t see my little, mundane days as a negative thing.  I mean, sure, I look forward to the days where I go out with friends or family to the theatre or cinema or my day out to go to Harry Potter Studio Tour (fab. Harry Potter Tour link), or Whipsnade Zoo (great. Zoo link).

However this blog is about all the in-between days where nothing special happens, care routines fall into a familiar pattern and life seems to slow down.

I treasure these days.  Days where I am not expected to do anything and can choose whether to play Simpsons: tapped out (username: emmabuckett), read my book or do my cross stitch.

Don’t get me wrong, to have a purpose and responsibility is a really good thing and is what keeps the world turning but it is really important to also have days to just rest, do whatever takes your fancy and take time to think about things.  Take stock if you will.

By nature I am not happy being ‘purposeless’ but due to the debilitating, degenerative disability that I have, I have been forced to give up my regular office job with little to no prospect of being able to hold down another.  I can no longer type for long periods of time, I can’t carry anything heavy, I can’t file, I can’t reach a photocopier, my speech is slow so I can’t speak to people on the phone a lot and the list goes on…  Whilst I remain hopeful that something might one day come my way, I have absolutely no idea where to look, what this might be or how on earth I would be able to regularly hold down a job.  I am sure it is not just me in this particular predicament.

So how do I cope on a daily basis?  The answer is fairly simple although it did take me two years to figure it out after finishing work!  Take each day as it comes.  Don’t be afraid of changing your routine and don’t be worried if it turns out that you don’t have anything in particular to do that today.  Relax.  Perhaps use your time to pursue your hobbies, catch up on your correspondence, take up a hobby that you have never tried before, read all those classic novels that you have been meaning to read for years but never gotten around to.

It is your life and even if there are negative issues that you can’t control, don’t let it stress you out.  You can deal with it!