The Sentinel, Scbedules 201211

      All of our working lives we lived on schedules. They were set by our employers, not by us and that was okay.

      We retired and thought our days of following a set schedule were over. That was not to be. The farm had its own set of schedules, constant mowing in the summer, snow removal in the winter, repairs on a 90 year-old house, storm cleanup, roof repairs. There was so much that had to be done on schedule I had to wonder how we kept up with it when we had full-time jobs. We were losing ground more every year and were just too old to keep up with all of what there was to do.
      We decided to sell out and move to an apartment in town, thinking that our days of living on schedules were over. We were going to simplify our lives with no more living on a schedule. Wrong again!
      We thought that with our new life we were going to be free to do what we wanted when we wanted. We now find ourselves living on new schedules. We can’t lay down and sleep for 8-10 hours a day, 6 hours is our maximum. We go to bed very early in the evening and are up very early in the pre-dawn hours. By 7am we have been awake for 3-4 hours, done our yoga class, did our meditation, had breakfast. It never seems to change. Now we have cell phones, laptops, and hearing aids, all of which have a schedule that cannot be deviated from. We have more doctor’s appointments because of our age. Now with the pandemic, even our shopping has to be scheduled so we are in the stores as they open and before they begin to fill with other shoppers, especially the ones who feel it is their right and freedom to not wear a mask for themselves and more importantly for our protection.
      I suppose the truth is that there is no avoiding schedules as long as we are living. I know when we die and get to heaven, we’ll likely be assigned to angel duty and have to watch over someone else back here on earth. We'll get to see how they deal with the scheduling in their life.