Charm Citizen

Last day of Vacation – Last day if vacation is always a tough one. There is so much packing and mental gymnastics about leaving relaxation behind and starting work. This year I have so much back to school anxiety with the kids new bell schedule that It feels harder. At least I know that tmrw is a light day, meaning that the kids don’t have to woken early, their things packed, and taken to and from summer camp. Below is list of things we have to do before leaving the house. The goal is to make it as clean as possible for the next family member that comes in, especially if they arrive late on a Friday night from Baltimore. I decided it is akin to what a AirBNB turnover must feel like. If you do a thorough job it can take several hours to hit all the items on the list:

• Ocean City House Cleaning List (full) air b no style
  • Pack
  • Wash all linens, Dry, and Put Away
  • Clean bathroom sinks, shower, and toilet
  • Vacuum
  • Sweep and mop kitchen floors
  • Clean toaster oven and coffee pot
  • Empty all trash cans
  • Take trash to the curb
  • Tidy up and pillows, nicknacks, etc
  • Clean up any outside toys or furniture
  • Mow the lawn

Sunday Runday – I’m trying to stick with my regular running routine, if you can 1 day a week a routine, and take a lap around the ocean city neighborhood today. There is a short route and a long route. I’m definitely in short route territory these days. I’ve scaled back my running since completing a 10-miler in June and have no formal running plans on the horizon. Today I will run around the Montego Bay “Walking Pond” 1/2 mile loop and down along the neighborhood waterfront boardwalk and back to the house along boring Sandy Hill Road.

Back to School Prep- Here are a few things we need to pick up for back to school. I’m freaking out because this could potentially cost me $1000 between all three kids.

• New Lunch boxes
• Shoes
• Clothes
• Hair cuts
• Farah’s hair dye
• School supplies

Stacking Days- I’ve learned the importance is taking life One Day at a Time (ODAT) and stacking days of desired behavior, like eating healthy and not drinking, to achieve desired results, mainly less chaos, more order, a better body, etc. Before I got sober, I believed in quick fixes. I thought that a 30 day boot camp or 10 day detox would fix me. In reality, it’s been making small daily changes and adopting routines to carry out day after day, week after week, month after month that make the biggest changes. That said, if you are feeling bad or in a slump, you can start to feel better but just starting to string together positive behaviors and days. This is just a random post but I’d like to do more thinking and writing on this topic.

Dinner Routine for the kids – since John and I are vegan, people always ask how we handle dinner time with the kids who are not vegan. The kids are also picky snd they very rarely agree on what to eat. We implemented a schedule to stop all the guessing and fighting about what to serve. This way, everyone can eat at least part of the meal – whether it be just the vegetable, the protein, or starch. John and I swap in vegan proteins such as tofu or fake meat to go with the base meal.

• Monday – Salmon, Rice, Edamame
• Tuesday – Tacos
• Wednesday – Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Thursday – Chicken Tenders, French fries, broccoli
• Friday – Pizza
• Weekends – leftovers and big breakfasts