My Perfect Daily Life

Notice that I did not say "My Perfect Day."  I want this post to be how I wish my life could run...how it would be in a perfect world.

In a perfect world, I would be organized.  I would wake up at a reasonable hour (maybe around 7:00, maybe earlier, maybe a little later), take care of the dogs, have some me time, have breakfast, go through my normal routine, and head off to work by 9:00.  My lunch for the day would be packed and ready to go.  My house would be clean.  My clothes would be laid out (or at least clean AND folded), and I would be all set and ready to go.

My work day would be challenging but fun.  I would work hard and be exhausted, but I would love it (OK, that's already true, but that's beside the point).  I would have an actual lunch hour.  My work day would end at a reasonable hour, and I would be home by a reasonable hour (7:00 at the LATEST).  If I arrived home earlier, I might fix dinner (preferably one that had been prepared earlier in the week and frozen for convenience), or Hans and I might go do something fun like ride bikes or take the dogs for a walk or go to the beach (in warmer weather only), or if I arrived home at a later time, Hans might have dinner ready for me.  In other words, I would eat at a reasonable hour.

I would spend half an hour cleaning and tidying up.  Not much would be needed because cleaning would be a regular thing and not just something we did when things started to get out of control.  After cleaning, Hans and I might do something else, or we might just get ready for bed.  We would spend a bit of time reading, and then we would fall asleep, and sleep well.

In my perfect daily life, meals would be healthy, time would be managed, and life in general would be organized.  Weekends would be time off, and sleep would be present.  Life isn't quite like that now, though.

My Current Daily Life
Generally, you'll find me awake between 5:00 and 5:30, possibly earlier if a dog is particularly upset or a cat is particularly hungry.  I do use this early time quite wisely, I must admit.  First thing I'll let the dogs out.  Then it's time for food and water.  Then it's time for a work out.  Sometimes this means taking the dogs for a jog, other times it means yoga.  Personally, I like the jog one more mainly because the dogs are involved.  When I'm done with that it's time for breakfast, and somehow after that becomes rushed.  Time seems to fly by, and I all of a sudden am running around the house like a mad woman, trying to get my day in order.  Thank goodness for Hans because he normally puts my lunch together!

I leave the house by 9:00, 9:30 at the latest.  I spend my day driving from appointment to appointment, sometimes racking up over 100 miles in a day.  If I'm supremely lucky I'll be able to stop to eat my lunch.  If I'm super-duper, amazingly lucky I'll even have time to read a bit.  By the way, I LOVE VA rest stops, and I'm a pro at chilling out in my car at a gas station.

If I'm lucky, I'm home by 7:00.  Generally, though I'm home sometime between 8:00 and 10:00.  Hans, being the wonderful man that he is, will often have dinner ready or nearly ready when I get home (if I call him to let him know I'm on my way and ask him to please start dinner).  Dinner is usually something easy that only takes half an hour to warm up (think frozen pizza) and doesn't create too many dishes, but is still filling (frozen pizza and bread sticks). 

I can't sleep right after eating, so I'll spend at least half an hour digesting.  I'll go to bed tired, and frustrated over not having gotten everything done.  Generally this is around 11:00, sometimes as late as midnight.

This is Monday through Saturday.  Sundays I don't work "in the field" but I do try to catch up on office work or see friends, or do something else that doesn't involve sleep.  I feel behind and run down.  I can't seem to catch up.

Now, I don't want you to take this the wrong way.  I very much love what I do.  I have a wonderful life, and things could be much worse.  However, on days where I've only gotten about 4 hours of sleep I very much wish that things were a little different.

Yes, there are many and multiple things I could change.  Yes, there are many and multiple things I'm working on changing.  I know that working 12 hour days will not always be the norm.  I know I will see better days.  For now, though, I'm tired.  Today, I want to rant a little.

Thank you for listening to my tantrum.