Routines. It's not really a subject I want to wake up on a Saturday morning and write about. I can whole heartedly say I hated routines until about a month ago. My opinion has totally changed since then, and I'll tell you the story later in the column.

Routines are part of our every day life, you just don't notice them. Riding the bus every day to school could be called a routine. Maybe cleaning your room could be called a routine (like that would ever happen. Okay, maybe for some of the neat people out there, but for me cleaning my room would not be a routine).

Routines can help keep you organized and successful at school, and at home. How? Well, let's say you set aside two hours for homework every night. If you stick to that routine, then it just becomes a habit, and no angry, pointy nosed teachers stare down at you. Or is that just me?

Routines can also be relaxing, like having something to look forward to in the day, or week. Take my Mum for example. Every morning, she wakes up and goes for a 15 minute walk, around 6:30. I don't know how she does it, but Mum actually looks forward to waking up every morning and taking a walk in the brisk air, alone. For others, going to the mall once a week is reassuring, and something to look forward too.

So, what about my own experience with routines? It all started when my mother volunteered me to help down at the library every Saturday afternoon. That could be a routine in itself, but not the main point of the story. So, every Saturday, I trudged down the six blocks to the library. After a few weeks, I started noticing an elderly lady sitting on the front porch of a retirement home. I stared at her curiously every time I passed. She was a very peculiar woman. I started calling her Hattie, because I didn't know her true name. Hattie would always wave when I passed by, looking up briefly from her knitting. Sometimes I would wave too, or shout hello.

I gained a friendly acquaintanceship with her. Sometimes, if Hattie wasn't there swinging on the porch, I would get worried. But then she would always be back next week, with a little pink and yellow hat on her head, which had a different color feather sticking out of it every Saturday. Last week was a bright purple plume. Over a month, I realized that waving to Hattie had become my routine, and that I enjoyed it very much. One week, I remember, she held up the purple and blue fabric she had been knitting for me to see. It turned out to be a very pretty scarf. I remember I smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Maybe seeing me was Hattie's routine. Someday, I'm going to find out her real name, but for now, seeing Hattie every Saturday afternoon is a nice pleasure for me.

So, maybe you should get a routine. They will help you keep organized, be self-sufficient, and just maybe make you a new friend. I know my view of routines changed.

What about yours?

Do you have a certain routine that you like to stick to? Share in the BBS.

Your Library Helper,
Glitsygrl