“NOAH AND HIS ARK” Terra Cotta sculpture by kayti sweetland Rasmussen
Order is good–most of the time it helps us find our shoes easily among an array of other pairs. (Think of the early morning confusion with Noah and the boys trying to get dressed while the Ark is tossing about in a discontented sea.)
But if we stick too much to the same order and pattern we lose. We lose the opportunity to discover new paths and new ways of doing things. Sometimes the break in order is not of our own choice and at times it’s forced as when you lose a job. Often it’s a blessing in disguise. It’s an opportunity to explore and discover what remained hidden in the old path.
That said, I am a firm believer that a daily routine should be a preferred way to go. Children benefit, husbands benefit, and even dogs benefit from a comfortable expected way of life. It’s the sudden glitches, potholes and difference of opinion which give onto a less satisfactory lifestyle. However, some people such as Dr. Advice, thrive on these glitches, and as the old saying goes he “makes lemonade out of lemons”. As I have perhaps mentioned before, he is a communicator. (Ronald Reagan was a no-show in comparison! ) The good doctor calmly faces the antagonist, and chats for an hour or two and problem solved. Charlie on the other hand, is still a work in progress.
As Jack Russell Terriers go, Charlie is fairly typical. Noah would not have welcomed one onto his boat, since they are great disruptors, and Noah’s planned sense of order would have suffered. JRT’s are like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get. Charlie’s brother Bodee, who is 6 months older (don’t ask) is his counterpart, although Charlie at seven years is showing signs of sensible old age. On the other hand, he has his own sense of order. He expects a walk at 3:30 p.m. and dinner upon his return, he not only expects, but demands a blanket over him at night, not that it is so cold, but it has become routine.
But if we, like Charlie stick to the same old routine day after day, are we missing out on something new and exciting? It may be like eating the same old oatmeal day after day. Perhaps we need to throw on a little more brown sugar and blueberries, or possibly even change the menu. Who knows where it will lead. Just put your shoes in the same place every night.
Pachofa-Unfinished 
Cute article.
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Thanks Carole. Loved the picture of the birthday party yesterday. Cute girls!!
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Absolutely LOVE this post. The photo of Charlie on bench with little buddy below is a winner in every sense of photographic surprises.
A sense of order. Hmmmmmmmm.
Do We like it or need it?
“Order in the court! The judge is throwing beans.
I’m in the bathtub floating submarines.”
And so on.
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I LOVE the little ditty, and have fond memories of singing it myself while jumping rope. Now for a little order around here!
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Your Noah’s Ark is marvelous. The expressions on what I think are the hippos made me laugh!
I like to think in terms of structure as well as routines. A house is the same structure every day, but many different things happen there. My blog has been structured very much the same since I began it five years ago, but each post is very different. With a clear, solid structure, you can take a story in a dozen directions. And so on.
Of course, routines are important, too.I begin and end the day with kitty, giving her the brushing she adores – in the morning with my coffee, at night with her treats. Sometimes I wish for more routine in my life. Because my work is weather dependent, there can be weeks in a row when I don’t know whether I’ll be working or have income. It requires more planning than I’m naturally given to. There are times when punching a clock seems almost desirable – but not really!
I think a certain amount of routine gives security. It also provides a backdrop for those occasion abrupt changes that shift our perspective – one way or another!
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Your sense of structure is the thing I most enjoy about your blog. That and the variety of stories you create. I am not a natural writer, and my blogs frequently take on a life of their own! I, like Charlie, am a work in progress! However, writing like artwork, requires solitary time for thinking, and the unpredictability of retirement sometimes gives less time than I would like. You can only structure your life so far. I love the idea of the end-of-the-day brushing of your kitty. We haven’t had a cat for many years, and Charlie would not approve of the invasion of a competitor now. But we always had a kitty around to sit on our laps. Charlie is not a lap dog, and the big dogs wouldn’t fit no matter how much they longed to do it!
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Charley at his best. He is clearly a philosopher working his way through life and its foibles. I like a bit of unpredictability, some chaos and excitement but not to the extend when socks go missing, my glasses or stolen pyjamas.
I love your Noah’s ark especially that little ladder hanging over the side.
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I grew up with so much unpredictability that a little order is welcome for me. Of course to keep it all interesting, I spend a good deal of time finding the bits and pieces of husband’s life, and to keep him from disrupting the order in Charlie’s life!
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Delightful post. Charlie’s got good taste in chairs too. I like the detail that he demands a blanket over him at night. Obviously, like babies and adults, he feels comforted by swaddling š
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Thanks Narelle. He is disappointed now that the Christmas cards have stopped coming regularly. He waits patiently by the front door each day to grab them and bring them in. One of his little “jobs”. He’s the first dog for whom I have had to invent work—just to keep him busy. He is much like a sheepdog in that respect.
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Yes, routine is especially useful in the morning, before the brain begins working! Love, love, love your Noah’s Ark. I’ve been learning printmaking recently, and I’ve thought about depicting the animals lining up to board the Ark. It’s an intriguing subject.
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I’m fascinated by many of the biblical stories. Putting them into modern context would be so much fun. I did a bit of printmaking years ago while studying North Coast native art. The large areas of color in many of the symbolic designs do well as prints. Have fun. That’s the joy of trying new things.
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The joy of established routines is that they reveal the beauty in the ordinary, speed things up, relieve mundane anxieties and, when they become automatic, release you to range over new and other things at the same time.
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How true Richard. If I could only convince Dr. Advice to do the same! The problem with the aging brain is that things flit in and out again so quickly, one has to take advantage of them as they are presented or they are gone forever. This nicely messes up the perfect routine. The advantage is that time is usually of no importance!
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HA! Glenys lives in ordered chaos and achieves everything in a state of joyous excitement. To look for something is a romping adventure, although she tells me she knows where everything is. Her world is one I can hardly pick my way way through – to do so is extremely therapeutic for dull old me. š
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I think G;enys and I would be good friends. The difficulty arises when a second party begins operating in the same sphere. Some objects may never see the light of day again.
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ahhh love this piece so well written. Thanks Aunty Dear!
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I do have to admit though that even though I plan a sense of order—-it rarely happens!Ā Charlie is much more into it!
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