The Beaten Path

For one who spent most of her life following the "road less traveled", so to speak (and, no, I will not wax poetic and go all Robert Frost on you), I find huge comfort in my daily rituals (I am thrown off today, for example, because poor Lil has the cough that has plagued a number of us in this house, so... Milo will miss his beloved gymnastics... bugs me). I like my morning coffee - I like that Enzo and Olivia both pack the same lunch almost everyday - I even like the daily discipline of blogging into the abyss each morning (as you know, my "break" was unbelievably short-lived). We read stories at night, bake cookies after school, get our pumpkins from the same farm every year (Harvest Valley - and we are on our way in the next few days :-)... I have become - gasp! - a creature of habit. With that comes a lot of good... I eat well, I exercise, I organize finances - all that residual stuff that comes with a type A-ish / OCD personality. That said - I also don't dress, talk or act like anyone else I know, which.... often makes for some "why don't I have more friends" days or musings on why some people find me odd, but... for the most part, I like being me, AND.... I like my daily rituals. The photos? You guessed it - they are my beaten path - my 'hood - the roads I drive, walk or run on a regular basis. To school - to the store - to the gym.... I see the same walkers, same kids at the bus stop, same dogs, same Halloween decorations each year. And... just like when I was a kid and would ride the school bus, noting all my familiar landmarks on my way to and from school - all the holiday decorations - the familiar snow drifts or toys in the yard at all of these roadside houses, I like the zen of the familiar.