Challenge - Day 8: "Daily Routine"

This has to be the most boring topic on the list -- my daily routine. Just a few days ago I was talking to one of my friends about how I stay busy most all day but, at the end of the day, cannot tell you what I achieved. We were discussing the transition from the workplace to being "mostly retired." At least when I had a salaried job I could tick off a list of accomplishments at the end of the day. Now it seems my life is more of a process, with no distinctive goal in sight other than to keep living and not have knee surgery. (My knees are not "bad" and I hope to keep them strong. It seems like the majority of the people I know end up having knee surgery, so this is a worthy goal.)

I do have some things I do routinely. The fourth Monday afternoon and the first Friday afternoon of each month I volunteer at the Visitor Center. That's always entertaining because of the never-ending variety of questions we get asked, both in person and by phone. I once had a woman from New York call, wanting to know how she could get in touch with whoever collected the garbage from roadside parks in Texas. She had been in Texas on a motorcycle tour the week before and thought she had left her cell phone at a roadside overlook somewhere near our little town and wanted to recover it. She was very aggressive (New York, remember?) and more than a little upset with me when I didn't offer much hope for her quest. Exasperated, I finally said, "Lady, you need to buy a new cell phone," and hung up. Sometimes you just have to hit people over the head with a 2 x 4. My monthly routine also includes Mexican Train dominoes (second Thursday) and Mahjong (any Wednesday we can get it together,) but I don't have many tasks I do on a daily basis, other than feed the dogs. That task takes precedence and they will remind me enthusiastically if I'm running late. 

For a little more than a year now, my husband and I try, at least twice a week, more if possible, to go to the San Marcos Activity Center and work out in the pool there. Neither of us are strong swimmers, so we power walk in the pool. I also do a series of exercises using aqua bell hand weights to tone my arms and upper body, wall stretches and squats and sets of leg work using a kick board. Scott simply walks the pool as fast as he can. Some of you may remember I wrote about how I think that, at this point in life, I can forget math and algebra, mostly because my husband is a math genius. (Read about this here if you are interested.) He has calculated the length of the pool and estimates that 37 laps make up one mile. While he powers away, walking as many laps as he can, usually about 55, my routine is this: (1) arm exercises (2) ten walking laps, with two of them sideways and two backwards (3) wall stretches and squats (4) ten more laps (5) straight kicks and frog kicks with the board and (6) ten more laps. The whole thing takes exactly one hour; it seems much longer. Seriously, I do enjoy the workout. I feel great afterwards and can tell it has significantly improved my stamina and muscle tone, not to mention burning calories. Combined with yoga and occasional bike riding, it is the sum of my physical exercise. I made a proclamation when we started the aqua workout that I was not doing any more excercise that hurt. No more running, Jazzercise or Zumba. So far, so good. My fitness hasn't suffered and my knees and joints are ever so grateful.

So there you have it -- routinely boring but happy and fulfilling. I have no complaints, or at least none right now. Check back later, I'm sure that status will change. 

Thanks for stopping by today.