"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." Aristotle
I am thinking about habits and routines this morning. We all have our little routines. I know that if it is Sunday, I check my houseplants. I know that I hand out the lead-based paint booklet along with the state mandated Information About Brokerage Services the first time I speak with a potential client. If I do it the same way every time I don't have to question whether I have done it or not. That is part of the value of habits. We don't have to think about it, we just do it.
My morning routine has just gotten a major shift in focus. After 12 years without a dog, I have one. Not having a dog has been hard on me because I am a dog person living a cat lifestyle. I live in a 2nd floor condo. I have been lent a dog, a sweet little animal who has spent her life being the 3rd dog in my nephew's household. We are exploring the possibilities that perhaps I can in fact incorporate walking a dog into my habits and routines. My nephew fully intends to have her back at home in a week or so. He is a Master electrician. He usually has one or more of these little dogs with him at work. He is a great big man and these are little bity dogs. It is pretty entertaining to see them coming. When I talked with him this morning, I asked if he were missing her and he said "oh yeah..."
My geriatric cat has an opinion about this experiment. He is being very calm and relatively stoic about this change. Like my newphew, I think the cat is waiting for it to be over, too! What the cat doesn't know is that I am pretty certain that, one way or another, we are going to be living with a dog on a permanent basis. That is, if I can adjust my little habits and routines to accomodate one!
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