Time: Who Gets What?
Say there's 24 hours in any given day; Just go with me here. And you have a lot of stuff going on in that time frame. You need to sleep, spend time with God, take care of bills, do house work, shop, help out a friend, participate in ministry, look after your plants, entertain yourself, order stuff online, cook meals, drop off and pick up your loved ones, plan an event, work on vacation plans, write a blog, exercise, wash and style your hair, answer texts and emails and Facebook posts and Messenger comments, work on three never ending creative projects, do laundry, spend time with your significant others (what am I missing?) OH YES. Organize life for another person who is completely dependent upon you. Everything can kinda be muddied up together if you're not careful; it gets hard to say where you end and the others in your household begin. Some days it's like swimming under water trying to reach a shore you're not sure exists; you just pray that the oxygen in your tank holds up. After realizing I wasn't doing such a good job of organizing my time I set out to develop a schedule. My left brain made me do it honestly because my right brain was in COMPLETE denial about the need for structure. Once we decided on Adult Day care for Dad three days a week, a saner schedule for all of us began to emerge that involved separate time Me, Raymond, Dad and time for Raymond and Me and Dad and us. It generally goes something like this:
SUNDAYS. Devotions. Church where Raymond serves. Sometimes we go out to eat after church but mostly we cook together at home. Dad catches an afternoon nap, Raymond watches golf and I read. Caregivers Support Group call on Facebook Messenger at 3pm. More reading, devotions, and bed.
MONDAY: Devotions, Adult day care for Dad. Raymond and I walk about three miles then grab breakfast. Shopping then back home for household chores. Pick Dad up, dinner, devotions, blog and bed.
TUESDAY: Devotions. Bath for Dad and a big breakfast. Nurse visits Dad. Raymond golfs with friends. I do laundry and household chores. Tutoring for me at 4:30 pm, eat, devotions, blog and bed.
WEDNESDAY: Devotions. Adult day care for Dad, We walk 3 miles or its an alternate golf day for Raymond. I finish laundry, craft or sew or shop. Pick up Dad, cook, devotions, prep for Sisterhood, bed.
THURSDAY: Devotions. Sisterhood church ministry for me. Dad sleeps in. A sitter comes from 2-4 to stay with Dad and we go up to the clubhouse to hit golf balls and read or get in the pool (guess who does what😜). Go home, cook dinner, devotions, blog and bed.
FRIDAY: Devotions. Adult day care for Dad. Date day activities for us. Walk. Pick up Dad, eat out, devotions, blog, bed.
SATURDAY: Devotions. Bath for Dad and big breakfast. Laundry and house chores. Hang out on the Lanai and Dad listens to hours of jazz. Walk. Raymond goes to the driving range. Cook for the week, TV time, devotions, bed.
Of course we bust this up with all kinds of other activities during the week but this is the baseline pattern of our lives. Routine does matter, order matters, occasional disruption matters, time with God really matters, Cuddle time definitely matters, Dance party time makes all of our days. It's all important and I sweat the details probably more than I should. Like, I don't like clutter so I nag a bit if items aren't picked up. Raymond doesn't care for too many changes in our routine. He has his distinct chores and I have mine though we've gotten much more flexible about those since the January fast when we switched roles. We aren't rigid but we are regular and that has helped to keep all of us a bit more sane. Do you have a routine dear reader and if so, feel free to share.
SUNDAYS. Devotions. Church where Raymond serves. Sometimes we go out to eat after church but mostly we cook together at home. Dad catches an afternoon nap, Raymond watches golf and I read. Caregivers Support Group call on Facebook Messenger at 3pm. More reading, devotions, and bed.
MONDAY: Devotions, Adult day care for Dad. Raymond and I walk about three miles then grab breakfast. Shopping then back home for household chores. Pick Dad up, dinner, devotions, blog and bed.
TUESDAY: Devotions. Bath for Dad and a big breakfast. Nurse visits Dad. Raymond golfs with friends. I do laundry and household chores. Tutoring for me at 4:30 pm, eat, devotions, blog and bed.
WEDNESDAY: Devotions. Adult day care for Dad, We walk 3 miles or its an alternate golf day for Raymond. I finish laundry, craft or sew or shop. Pick up Dad, cook, devotions, prep for Sisterhood, bed.
THURSDAY: Devotions. Sisterhood church ministry for me. Dad sleeps in. A sitter comes from 2-4 to stay with Dad and we go up to the clubhouse to hit golf balls and read or get in the pool (guess who does what😜). Go home, cook dinner, devotions, blog and bed.
FRIDAY: Devotions. Adult day care for Dad. Date day activities for us. Walk. Pick up Dad, eat out, devotions, blog, bed.
SATURDAY: Devotions. Bath for Dad and big breakfast. Laundry and house chores. Hang out on the Lanai and Dad listens to hours of jazz. Walk. Raymond goes to the driving range. Cook for the week, TV time, devotions, bed.
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| Silent Dance Party Time |
Of course we bust this up with all kinds of other activities during the week but this is the baseline pattern of our lives. Routine does matter, order matters, occasional disruption matters, time with God really matters, Cuddle time definitely matters, Dance party time makes all of our days. It's all important and I sweat the details probably more than I should. Like, I don't like clutter so I nag a bit if items aren't picked up. Raymond doesn't care for too many changes in our routine. He has his distinct chores and I have mine though we've gotten much more flexible about those since the January fast when we switched roles. We aren't rigid but we are regular and that has helped to keep all of us a bit more sane. Do you have a routine dear reader and if so, feel free to share.
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