My Life - Chapter 47 - Morning Routine

My Dopp Kit** has all my toiletries and is ready
when we travel. Note the flashlight (for pre-dawn
runs) and Portals of Prayer.
11/20/21 (dwm)

 As an adult, I've had a few different morning routines.  You know, the things you do every day, because if you don't, your day won't be 'right,' and may throw you off entirely if you cut corners.

 For the past 12 years, after I roll out of bed use the bathroom, read that day's Portal of Prayer entry, and brush my teeth, I exercise.  Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic which shut things down in March 2020, that meant driving to Anytime Fitness.  

 Since the pandemic, it means going downstairs, throwing on a sweatshirt, hat, and gloves (if necessary) for a run in the neighborhood before doing a High Impact Interval Training session I found on YouTube.  Depending on my running pace, it takes 50 minutes.

Then it's time to shower; comb; put in my contact lenses; apply deodorant and after shave; and get dressed before eating breakfast.  The local news is usually on long enough to provide an update and the day's forecast.  By 7, I'm heading to work.  Because of Covid, there is an additional check-in process at work, then it's to the office where I log in to my computer.  Before reading work email, I read that day's Lutheran Hour Ministries Daily Devotion (lhm.org/dailydevotions/), then the day begins.

When we were first married, I was news director at KJJC in Osceola, Iowa.  The first newscast was at 6 AM.  That meant getting up at 4:30 to get to the station in time to prepare a newscast and make necessary calls.

Our first home was on the second floor of the 
gray building (above).  Gus & Tom's
was ground level in building to its right.
The apartment was new, built after a fire. 
It was nice, but smelled smoky our entire stay. 
10/15/21 (dwm)

During our 18-months in Osceola, we lived two different places.  The first was an apartment (photo right) over a woman's dress shop next to Gus & Tom's Pizza.  Then we moved to a rental house a few blocks away.  

The house wasn't well-insulated but the bathroom was large enough to hold a washer and dryer.  The size meant the warm shower I took didn't warm it up.  After the shower, I quickly shaved, got dressed, and headed to work.

I did a newscast at the top and bottom of the hour from 6 to 8.  Then I hopped in the car to drive downtown where I did the rounds of the police department, sheriff's department, and either the county clerk's office or the Board of Supervisors meeting.  After I finished I stopped by our home for breakfast at 8:30.

For my next two journalism jobs, I didn't have to be up as early every day so I had a chance to read the paper before heading out.

My first five years selling insurance we created an office in what was the former parlor.  With two young children it could be chaotic around the house.  My dad created a stoplight that hung on the front of my desk so the boys could tell if it was OK to enter and when stay out.  Recently, in the November 22/29 issue of TIME magazine, I saw a new app that does the same thing, silencing or shutting down interrupting notifications and activating a 'stoplight' at your workstation asking colleagues not to interrupt.  Again, my Dad was ahead of his time.

One of the first things I did in the office each day was read the obituaries to see if any clients had passed.  The majority of the time I received a call, but when it came to small policies, sometimes people forgot about them, so in those cases I was able to let people know they would get some unexpected money.

It wasn't until 2006 that I added exercise to my daily routine and a few years later before I learned that no one interrupts you while exercising at 5:30 in the morning, but meetings, events, and fatigue stopped me plenty of times from hitting the gym after work.

Now I can't imagine starting my day without doing something to get my heart moving.

** My Dad always called the bag he kept his razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. his "Dopp kit." (photo upper left) That's what I called it, but when I needed to buy one, I couldn't find one and got funny looks when I asked clerks for help.  

Here's why they are called Dopp kits, according to Wikipedia: 

Dopp kit is a term particularly in use in the U.S. for toiletry bags.  The name derives from the early 20th century leather craftsman Charles Doppelt, whose company designed the case in 1926.

Toiletry kits had been issued by the US military services during World War I.  "Toiletry" and "Dopp" kits became synonymous when the military issued them through World War II.