I know myself by my schedule. When I’m at home I have a routine, the people I interact with, the chores and tasks and daily driving routs that order my life. We go to the library, grocery store, work, church, school etc. and the boundaries are set, I am defined. Then comes vacation time, and despite the forewarning my routine is shot, my schedule non-existent, everything is topsy-turvy and I become disoriented.
This year our family is having an especially busy summer with all the reunions, camps, tournaments and adventures we can plan in a month of visiting family and friends in Utah, Nevada, California and Idaho before returning home. Obviously it’s not that there is nothing to do, it’s just not my usual doing. Now it’s tidying up a hotel room or being a good houseguest, packing suitcases, washing laundry in a laundromat, finding breakfast that can be eaten on the road, constantly inventing new ways to distract quarreling children who have been in a car far too long, and driving for hours across the vast undeveloped western desert.
When I find a lack of routine irritating I have to remind myself to practice being flexible, going with the flow and adjusting to whatever situation arises while being pleasant about it. I try to remember how some chaos allows for the possibility of new growth, such as the forest fires that dry out Sequoia cones so the seeds can pop out, and clears out the undergrowth so those seeds can germinate. Can the upheaval of my schedule clear out the dead routines and establish a more meaningful life? Even though it doesn’t feel like it, I like to hope so. But who knows what surprises lie ahead to facilitate new growth. Illness? New friends? Conflicts? Unique foods? Car trouble? Despite my natural craving for control I’ll try to let go of what isn’t really important and keep my awareness open to embrace the growth and perspective from whatever experiences life presents. Viva vacations!
