Relative Something

We are into the second week of our new routine, if you can call this a routine, and I feel like I am chasing my tail in search of a routine. I want to get over the hump of initiating accounts, registering for licenses, figuring out hours that places are open for business, plotting my travel routes and times, getting things ready in a timely manner, and finding the damn course-ground pepper.

We lost our pepper shaker. It was here a couple of days ago. We were using it at meals for several days, then it disappeared. I think it happened when Cyndie rearranged the kitchen cupboards the second time.

She had stowed most items and we were operating in a semi-functional mode. When she was eventually ready to really tackle the kitchen, she needed to pull EVERYTHING out and then begin placing the new accessory shelves she purchased, and putting things back in a new order. Somewhere in that process, the pepper disappeared. It may be easiest to just buy another bottle of pepper.

I still find myself reaching to the left wall for the light switch when I enter our bathroom. The switch is on the right side, past the open door. Harrumph. I was told that 10 days is all it takes for something to become habit. Each day I’m hoping it will be the one I quit flailing away at the left side, in search of a switch, when I enter.

I did notice, on my drive home yesterday, how easy it was for me to make an incredibly dramatic shift in how I frame my long drives in traffic since we moved. I’ve historically felt very strong disdain for traffic jams. I abhorred being caught in stopped traffic. It was very important for me to have a short and convenient commute.

The move we just made was the absolute wrong choice, in terms of my feelings about traffic. However, this move was right in every other way. Now that we have lived here a couple weeks, I can say, it is better than right in every other way. It is a dream come true. It is a thrilling paradise that tugs at, and energizes, every ounce of my being. And just that quick, my feelings about driving a long way to work, and dealing with traffic, have completely transformed.

Granted, it has only been 2-weeks. Feel free to ask me what I think after the weather creates days of poor driving conditions. I am open to the possibility that I will grow weary of the long drive. That is okay. I don’t plan to need to make the long commute forever. During this phase, I have plenty of options available from which to choose, in dealing with traffic issues that arise.

I am just happy to discover the new level of acceptance that has occurred for me. It is the first step in establishing the new routine I long to achieve.