I think my blog posts have gone a great way towards painting a picture of the age of bliss I currently find myself in and the self constructed mix these days of having a life that is both full of spontaneity and routine. On reflection, however, I don’t think the word ‘spontaneous’ fits anywhere within my life choices. My personality type is the opposite of this. I love a well ordered lifestyle and almost all my down time is fashioned with great thought and consideration.

Looking back on my post ‘On a whim and a prayer’ I used the word spontaneous to highlight the joy I have in life at being able to do pretty much anything I want to do at any given moment in time. And although this is absolutely true, I am actually too ordered and obsessive so rarely do anything on the spur of the moment. Instead my life is planned so that everything runs like clockwork, my social life and my relationship is included in this. This personality trait has become more set the older I get. My youth was vastly different, but then so was my next day recoveries and my work obligations.

I am quite routined and one day that is sacrilegiously forged to focus on just family is Sunday. This is the one day a week dedicated to just Mark and I and our paw family. I love this day. We wake up at our own pace, have a cooked breakfast, laze around the house for an hour or two before taking the dogs to an off leash park. The afternoon follows in similar fashion, it is just about being together at or around home. Mark’s work hours and my work/social life means this is the only day we really have together and so we commit to no other distractions. And truth be told, we are very inflexible around it. The only additional thing I will occasionally do is take nana to church.

Thursday and Friday nights will often be locked in with events outside the home usually solo on my part, with Mark staying at our abode because he is a super early riser and is equally early to hit the sack. I am a semi-regular team member at a Lygon st trivia night on Thursdays for a bit of harmless shenanigans and Fridays I have monthly Book Club dinners and Girl’s movie nights amongst other things. This Friday night just gone was spent watching ‘Beautiful – The Carole King’ story after dinner with a girlfriend.

I love Saturdays because it is a real freedom day for me whether it is caught up in the mundane of shopping and other household chores or friendship catch ups with brunches or visits to markets or festivals. The afternoons can range from relaxing with Netflix to afternoon drink sessions on roof top bars or beer gardens in the warmer months. Saturday nights swing between couple nights, group catch ups and other bookings or events, such as bands or concerts and of course the odd overindulgence in the drinking of bubbles.

In between all this I have the luxury of weekends away and longer trips during holidays. So my life does reflect the theme of my blog very much, but it is in no way spontaneous. I live in fear of chaos and disorder. I could never take a trip abroad or in Australia for that matter without everything booked in advance. I delight in having the critical parts, i.e. where we will be sleeping each night, locked in before we arrive anywhere. This allows my anxiety levels to subside to a level of normal functioning where what to do next becomes a joy and the main focus of any trip. I like to think that my self diagnosed OCD and associated anxiety works in my favour rather than against me. It does not impact on my life in a negative way and without a doubt both Mark and I benefit from it every Sunday funday!

Jodie xx