Tag Archives: routine

Spouse-Splaining

Posted on May 13, 2023 | Leave a comment

Happy weekend! Ours started off with a bang. A lesson for my husband. At issue was the concept of “routine.” He asked for something different for breakfast. OK, I can deal with that. Then he went for Lulu’s new “Chuckit” to go to the park instead of of her morning constitutional.

One man: One special weekend breakfast.

One herding dog: Changing routine for one day to incorporate fun new toy.

To understand why it becomes a conundrum is to know the mind of both the husband and the herder. For the husband it’s easy to know that during the week, things are rushed and one cannot have a perfect omelet, a rasher of bacon and English muffins every day. For a herder, one fun thing, done once becomes routine. Routine is sacred. She always gets the same breakfast, dinner and four walks per day. Routine. Treats are extra and usually earned. Easy life for all.

Introducing Chuckit is a no-no, and to demonstrate so, I went to the nth degree. OK, dear. How about when it’s ten below zero outside, you need layers and scarf and hat and gloves and boots and her winter coat and she brings you Chuckit, saying “It’s routine, Daddy!” Oh, he finally got it.

Lulu got her routine walk, he got his special breakfast. Crisis averted, now we can get back to the weekend. Enjoy yours. Dee

Rub-a-Dub Dub

Posted on May 29, 2015 | Leave a comment

Dee’s stuck in the tub. Yes. Perhaps four times in three years I have used the jetted tub. I had a bad health day. You don’t want to hear about that.

I got the water up over the jets and turned the jets on. Five minutes later, they would not go off. I had a day-mare of Maintenance showing up with me naked in the tub. Luckily my husband the physicist was home and he turned it off at the breaker. I was terrified and shook for an hour before starting dinner. Here’s the haiku.

The jets were soothing

My skin was smoothing

In all it was a good day

Call maintenance now

***

We have jobs. Today my husband enters his last weekday of freedom. We’ll have the weekend together then things will change. We will each be able to do our jobs. He will be able to be out of my kitchen, out of the way at least a few days a week and I’ll have to take the dog out 5X per day alone. Tradeoffs. He gets to make money. I get to vacuum, and run the dishwasher and washing machine and pay the bills as he will not be omnipresent on the phone and need silence.

I always liked preparing things like having all the laundry done and meals planned out and set up for weekends, when he was coming home every night. Now he will not be here during the week. It has been routine and now I find myself awakening with my arms stretched out to his pillow.

Oh, don’t worry about dog Zoe. She’s an opportunist and just thinks, yeah, that’s MY space! Zoe, you are too furry to be my husband, and I know the difference. She has two beds at home, three if you include ours, and an orthopedic bed in my car for trips. No, she’s not spoiled, but when she takes over his pillows……. Dee

ps A dear friend lost her mother recently and we promised a museum visit in her honor. Perhaps this weekend is the best time to do so.

Routine

Posted on May 27, 2015 | Leave a comment

I’m certain you know that herding dogs crave routine. I took Zoe in the back seat to bring my husband to work one hot morning down south years ago and she wanted to do it every day.

As soon as he said goodbye and got out to cross the street, next to the bus enclosure, Zoe would hop into the passenger seat and sit down as if she was a person. Everyone at the bus stop laughed. Every day. “My goodness! She looks human!”

Sometimes I crave routine because it’s easy, often I want something challenging. I often do that through writing and my food. We have had off-routine for some time now as my husband has been doing challenging things for himself. My world was turned upside down but he doesn’t know that.

If you read an earlier post my trackball mouse that helps me with my arthritis broke the other day. Only the scroller broke and I use that a lot so he installed another just for scrolling. Yesterday we received the new one which is similar. He installed it last night and I’m dealing with the variabilities. I’ve saved the old one as it may be fixed and sold on eBay for $600 (we bought it for $35) because they’re not made anymore. The trackball is smaller and I’m overshooting or undershooting this morning so please bear with me if I err.

Routine. Going between two computer mice drove me nuts but what was even worse is that after two days I started to get used to it!! It’s scary what the human mind can do. Thank goodness I’m getting that routine back.

This morning was horrible. I will not cook until my kitchen is clean. I only had a few hand-wash dishes from dinner. Dinner was great, chicken wings in my famous marinade/sauce, roasted red potatoes with olive oil, s&p and thyme. Spring greens salad with Campari tomatoes and my husband’s routine, ranch dressing. I like to make variable vinaigrettes but he loves his ranch dressing.

So I got a nose bleed after dinner and didn’t finish the hand-wash dishes until this morning. An alarm was set. I took out the dog and fed her. My husband, when in town, usually sits at the kitchen counter/bar on a nice stool and I feed him.

Eggs over medium, bacon, two strips, toast with jam that will not stain his dress shirt. Orange juice, herbal tea, and an allergy pill. He was in my kitchen this morning messing me up. We are definitely not back to “routine.” Not yet.

I need to pick up my game and be there for my family. The research we’ve done has been helpful but my breakfast game is about ten minutes off. Will work to serve. Dee

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Spouse-Splaining

Rub-a-Dub Dub

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