Our new routine, Day 25

Tuesday, April 7

I’ve always heard it takes 21 days to create a new habit, and after 25 days of social distancing, we are finally starting to get into a routine. I’ve always said that I like change, but I struggle with transitions. That has definitely been true in finding our new normal with such a radical change to our lifestyle. But now that we have settled in, we have become more settled, less anxious and more focused.

My day usually starts around 6 a.m. I get up, take a shower and get ready for the day. At 7 a.m., I wake up Jayda. Kent, Jayda, Cooper and I all go for a walk. We walk about 2.5 miles each morning.

We get back home around 8 a.m. and eat breakfast. Kent jumps right into work. I read a devotional, write on my blog or clean the kitchen before starting work around 9 a.m.

The older kids usually start making an appearance around this time. They have virtual classroom time scheduled throughout the day for different classes.

Jayda spends about one hour on her school work, and then she is usually done for the day. She loves structure in her day, so she keeps herself busy doing her daily devotional, exercising, jumping on the trampoline, cleaning her room or reading.

I work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A good part of my day is spent in meetings, so I am on Zoom calls most of the day. We all eat lunch on our own, but often a few of us will be eating at the same time, which is nice.

When I finish work, I usually take Cooper for another walk or we play with him outside while doing other things. Before this, Cooper would usually nap from about 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. These days, he barely naps at all, so he has been a lot more grumpy than usual.

We’ve been having family dinners together every night. This has required more planning and prep work on my part to make a decent meal for six people every day.

After dinner, we often go on another walk or play a game or at least a few of us do something together. I have been walking a lot of steps each day… usually between 13,000 and 22,000. The weather has been really nice, which has been such a blessing.

In the evening, Jayda and I almost always watch a movie or TV show while I work on a puzzle. Other people in the family join us or do their own thing. Everyone has their own interests that they pursue throughout the day. Matt lifts weights and rides his long board. Andrew is usually working on music, photography or a video. Alayna keeps up with her cheerleading skills. Jayda does stretching and practices her gymnastics skills on the trampoline.

Our life feels very calm and manageable. We are all getting used to this new rhythm, and personally, I really enjoy it. I’m not sure what it will be like when we have to adjust back to our previous way of living.

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How about you? Have you settled into a new routine?