It’s been difficult to keep up with the weekly routine I’ve practiced for the past many years. In a normal week, I would start Sunday in church with a praise band music refresher at 8:00 AM, then move to 9:00 worship. If our friends Roger and Mary are up to it, we would then go out to lunch afterward. Sunday afternoons are usually given to composing the “Monday Morning Mailing” (“MMM”).
As long as there are no appointments or other special commitments, Mondays find me sending the “MMM” out and, if I’m really lucky, starting the thumbnail sketches for my cartoons, but that luxury is rare because we usually DO have other commitments to tend to.
Tuesday mornings I have myself scheduled to write this blog and to finish up the two cartoons that I send to my cartoonist friend, Ken. (He, in turn, sends me two of his.) Wednesdays are nothing in particular, except for doing laundry and putting fresh linens out (bed sheets, towels, etc.). I keep an eye on the lawns so that if the grass needs mowing, I’ll do that on either Wednesdays or Thursdays. Thursday evenings find me at praise band rehearsal. Fridays and Saturdays are catch-up days when I can make up some of the things that I might not have gotten to earlier in the week, except that Saturdays are also when the indoor plants are watered, I plan out the Weekly Worksheet and fill the family’s medicine holders for the week to come.
There are even my daily routine patterns: I can’t stay in bed any later than 6:30 AM because that’s when Evelyn’s service dog, Kianna, takes her first walk of the day (she goes out every four hours after that, so that on a day that sticks with the schedule, she goes at 6:30 and 10:30 AM, then 2:30 and 6:30 PM, and finally before we go to bed in the evening). Every morning I give all the pets fresh water (that includes Karlyn’s cat, Kris, and our two guinea pigs, Kanolli and Kreme Puff) and give the piggies a small handful of hay for “breakfast.” I take my blood pressure, record my steps from the previous day, and then take some time for devotional reading, meditation, and prayer (and, not infrequently, a short nap)! Since Evelyn prefers to stay in bed several hours after I get up, I might have some breakfast before hitting the computer to check email or start whatever was on the agenda for that day.
By late morning, Evelyn has gotten up and I’ve made sure she got her meds, helped her get dressed and “escorted” her to the TV room where she spends the rest of the morning in her recliner (this is if she’s motivated enough to get out of bed; otherwise, she might stay there until lunchtime). The guinea pigs get another small handful of hay for lunch. The afternoons are given over to whatever immediate needs may present themselves at any given time.
Around dinnertime I start soliciting suggestions for what the family might want. Karlyn usually wants nothing (she prefers food that comes in a box or bag). Tiyanna fixes her own meals (which is good and bad, but we won’t go into that here). So, I fix whatever sounds good to Evelyn. We try to time dinner for around 6:30-ish (when I come back from walking Kianna) so we can catch the news, “Jeopardy,” and “Wheel of Fortune.” (Sadly, we haven’t had the pleasure of a family meal around the table for at least the past few years. Karlyn’s work schedule varies and, besides, she basically doesn’t eat what we do unless it’s shepherd’s pie, spaghetti, or a special chicken dish with potatoes and green beans that she likes, so that severely limits any opportunity for a family meal anymore.)
[Just FYI – as I was writing this blog just now, I’ve received several texts; I had to stop to get Evelyn up from her nap, as she requested; walked Kianna; switched laundry loads so we’ll have our bedsheets for tonight, and set out some items for dinner. You wouldn’t think that the task of writing a few paragraphs would be so challenging, but the demands keep on comin’!]
I just wanted to ’splain why there’s been no “MMM” or karlkraftslines.com lately. Truly hoping to get back on track real soon.