The Gene Pool

(that's him on the left...he wasn't so gray when I left home, must have been the younger kids that did that to him)

My dad is a creature of habit. Seriously, you could tell time by dad's unfaltering routine. He gets up at some ridiculously early hour of the morning...like 4:30 or something. Then he has the whole exercise routine that takes probably over an hour and then at least an hour of scripture study/prayer and then we'd all have breakfast and then he'd run upstairs, brush his teeth, give everyone around the table a kiss (or a handshake in one particular case :) ) and then he'd leave for work. He always called mom on his lunch break...ALWAYS! He always was home by 5:30..we'd line up for high pushes on the swing (that hung from a tree that is no longer there) and then he'd go in, change his clothes talk to mom and we'd have dinner. His days, weeks, months are all planned out and executed with exactness. He's an engineer...he can't help it! But I have to admit I admire his discipline. I remember practicing piano with dad in the other room in the mornings studying his scriptures. I wonder if he ever read/wrote in time with the music. I am certain that obnoxious songs ran through his head all day...but he still did it. There was no excuse for missing any part of the routine...vacations, holidays, sick days, snow days...nothin'! I think the first time I ever remember dad not completing the routine was probably the day he ended up in the hospital...that was a strange phone call! Dad, in the hospital? Of his own free will??

This is part of my gene pool. I like order, I like to have a specific time to do things so I always know what I'm supposed to be (but obviously NOT) doing. My schedule goes something like this: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I get up around 5:45, go downstairs and do the treadmill for 45 minutes while I watch one episode of Desperate Housewives. Tuesdays and Thursdays I sleep in a little and then do 1/2 an hour of WII active. Then I come upstairs, make breakfast and lunches. I get the kids up and start getting everyone ready for the day. After I take the kids to school, I shower and study. Then the rest of the day can begin. I used to do laundry on Mondays, bathrooms on Thursdays and a complete pick up and clean floors on Fridays. I used to always go to story hour on Thursday mornings...see, I got the gene that makes me want to schedule everything. The gene that I missed is the one that makes me actually do it. I am SO good at talking myself out of doing the things that I should be doing. The conversation goes like this: "GoodSelf, you need to get those bathrooms cleaned today". "BadSelf: I will." An hour later Good Self: "What are you going to do about those bathrooms?" Bad Self: "I'll get there, just gonna check facebook, email, blogs first" Good Self "You checked everything you can possibly check, now go do the bathrooms!" Bad Self "Why bother, no one is coming to visit this weekend...I cleaned them two weeks ago...they aren't so bad!" Good Self "good point...where else can we waste time?" It happens with the laundry too...and cleaning the house and pretty much all the chores I don't enjoy doing. It's a problem for me. My dad who never took a sick day until after like 20+ years with the company...me, I feel a little tickle in my throat and I don't have to get up an exercise 'cause I'm sick!

yeah, I got the compulsion to plan--thanks daddio, I just lack the discipline!