Habits Run Deep

Hello,

Leroy was gone this morning, but I still prepared enough warm water to make two cups of vinegar and honey. The honey was in the cup before I remembered that I only needed to make one cup. Because the water was not yet in there I left it on the table to show Leroy how serious I am about just going by rote. After I laughed at myself I continued to make oatmeal for two people. That did not cross my consciousness until after it was cooking so there was no turning back. That extra serving of oatmeal is sitting in the frig waiting for me to have a creative thought about using it in some other manner.

I also spent a little time thinking about how life would change if Leroy had died instead of just going out of town. Is that one of the real difficulties of having a person die who lives in the house with you? Are you constantly doing old actions only to find that they do not fit the new reality?

I have another habit that I am trying to change. I have read recently that we should wait thirty minutes before rinsing our mouths or putting something else in there. This allows the ingredients in the toothpaste to continue their beneficial work. I have, for years, wet my toothbrush after brushing and made another pass to get the paste out of my mouth. Only about one in ten times do I remember not to do that. It is amazing because I might have thought about it while brushing, but proceed to do it anyway and catch myself in the act.

Is it any wonder that people have such trouble stopping any sort of addiction? Besides the attraction of whatever has a hold, just having the habit of doing or taking it would be part of the difficulty. I must give people who actually do change a higher regard that they have been able to change their lives.

Paula