#write31days - Oct 14 - WAITing on routine

Since my job change (details here) I feel like my routine has been non-existent. I love spontaneous, but there are some parts of a routine I crave.  I used to have a 2.8 mile drive to work which has turned into 30 miles. The commute has become manageable and it's not bad....as long as I'm up and out early. However, it is a major change, that I've been WAITing to figure out new routine through various routes and timing. I've had a little bit of travel with my new job and more coming up, which I really enjoy. Still though, just when I feel like I'm getting a bit of routine, something changes (which change is still the only thing that stays the same) and the routine is out the window.

But, when I take a breath and realize what the lack of routine has given me I realize....

Finishing up some work on a patio before an evening meeting at Starbucks (thank you gift card, really only time I have Sbux) is a treat. And, not my routine.

My dog has been away to "Camp 4G" (my Mom and Dad's house) for 2 weeks due to my work schedule and while he's been away I've had the chance to see and stay with friends "in town" which means waking up a little later and driving A LOT less. That's certainly a routine that takes no WAITing to get used to.

I've done a few of my favorite things while taking advantage of those days including jogging at Memorial Park. The Park is one of the constants in my life for almost 18 years I've lived in Houston, I've always had seasons of jogging there. So, really, it is routine.

After my jog I went "home" to the house I was staying in, had dinner with their family around a full table with laughs and reflections on the day. I could have had tears in my eyes, because even though I'm WAITing on my own routine, like cooking in my kitchen, my table isn't full of end of day chatter.  Family dinner is part of the routine I grew up with and love it every time I'm sitting at a full kitchen table. Another gift. 

I've spent a couple of nights with a bestie who was a former roommate, we've stayed up talking shoes, clothes, family and life....those days feel like we've never not been roommates because it is so familiar and a gift of 15 years of friendship. 

I ran into one of my favorite Bible Study teachers because I was out of my routine and in the neighborhood where I used to live at one of my favorite places. Ten minutes of catching up was another gift. 

So, just because I feel like I'm WAITing...really, I am in a season of unexpected gifts. It's all in perspective, which is a lesson I've learned over and over again in seasons of WAITing. It doesn't matter if it is a great season, which this one is for me and I'm loving my new job or a hard season, the gifts are there, I just have to break out of routine sometimes to see them. 

Don't keep WAITing to get back to routine, you'll miss what's right in front of you!