Routine, Routine, Routine

I feel as though in the last week I have been running non stop. I have been running up the hill to the nearby station every day and running down the hill to home at the end of each day. I have been at the mercy of signal failures, faulty trains and even suicides. The week has been stressful and worrying but one of the hardest things has been the lack of routine, I love my routines. Routines come and go, and I adapt quite quickly to new ones but I like to have one. Scarlett has been coming to our house on a Monday for nearly two years. Sometimes she comes on other days but always on a Monday. We have our little routine and we have such fun. This week as I was going to the hospital Scarlett didn't come and my whole week has been thrown into confusion. I know I will be muddled about what day it is all week until she comes again.
  We are conditioned into routines from an early age. Double Maths and double French on a Tuesday morning. I remember that awful year at school when I dreaded Tuesday mornings but can still remember the weight that was taken off me when the lunchtime bell rang. It took me a long time to forget that low feeling on a Tuesday when I opened my eyes.
  There was another day of the week at school though I remember the routine just as clearly but for completely different reasons. I know exactly what I would have been doing on Thursday mornings. Reading a Jackie magazine. I loved Jackie as did all my friends. Thursdays were eagerly awaited and I remember our Biology lesson, which was first period on Thursday, was always ignored while we sat on the back science lab bench reading every word of it. We poured over every problem in the Cathy and Claire page, answered all the questions in the quizzes about such important matters as "Am I the right girl for him?" and memorised every beauty tip. I still quote hair care advice I read at the time to this day. Even the boys in the class joined in and we would read out their horoscopes whilst they listened seriously. It's no surprise to say I failed my Biology 'O' Level miserably.

   We loved the photo love stories and the latest news on pops stars such as David Cassidy and Donny Osmond. In an age of no internet or social networking I think it made young girls feel connected and not so alone. I know I look back with very fond memories of my experience with the magazine. It's just a shame about the Biology 'O' Level!
    I'm hoping I may get back into a bit of my routine now. Today, hopefully, I will be at home all day to catch up. A bit of work, answer my emails, the usual bits of housework and then a job or two I have been thinking about doing for a while. Home routines can be very reassuring when you have had a lot of upheaval and I am looking forward to it despite the fact it's raining again.
   I hope you have a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx