Routine again. Every morning during the week, the same predictable series of events come and go. That is what is called routine, and there is unfortunately not much one can do to prevent it. That's pretty much how life goes, and it allows us to survive better if we know what has to be done next and what we will be accomplishing as the hour before work passes by. The trick is to let it come as it was always meant to be and not get overly stressed if you are running behind schedule (most of the time anyway, one extreme or the other). So what is this series of events? This is the timeline: wake up, get out of bed, open up the window for fresh air, shower and shave, eat breakfast with the kids, help Thea without getting too much in her way, go upstairs, fold my pyjamas and put them under the pillow, make the bed, collect my stuff, finish getting dressed, stare in the mirror, put on my dress shoes, straighten my tie, scratch the stubbles on my face, close the window, go down stairs again, remind the kids that they have to get ready, tie a shoe and/or put on another coat, wake up. I usually wake up by noon, or thereabouts.