Sundays have become a ritual. Not just church. Not just my recovery meeting. I have been progressively making the day into the pace-car for the week. Groceries, food prep, laundry and cleaning all the things my girlfriend refers to as “adulting” or “pre-monday”. It takes a little energy to do.

I feel laundry is particularly archaic on account of the having to haul bins of clothing to the basement, sort them, put them in a machine that, despite some new digital bells and whistles, hasn’t changed since the late 1950s. Then put them in another machine to dry. Seriously, the washer and the dryer should have been combined as a singular piece of equipment 30 years ago. I guess the people at the manufacturers would rather sell two units at roughly twice the price. After wash and dry the damn clothes require another manual process of folding or hanging. Fortunately, this time of year Sunday folding is not so bad as I can yell at the television at (American) football games. It’s a stupid sport, but I love it.

My main indicator for when the ardor of textile purification must happen is when I hit the bottom of the underwear drawer. I don’t typically run out of underwear (no I don’t rewear), but I have those few pairs that I’ll only wear if it’s an absolute must. The briefs that have a batman logo on the front, the white briefs I bought at The Gap in Montreal when I lost my luggage a few years ago, the microfibre bikini briefs that are comfortable until about the end of the day when the elastic starts to wear at my skin. Class B underwear is something I think most people have and amazingly it does pace my clothes washing to every two to three weeks.

Grocery shopping has become less stressful largely due to the internet and the ability to keep spreadsheets of dummy menus and a list of food staples that I can simply compare against what’s in the pantry. I actually kind of enjoy this as it seems to be a system that works. There are a number of “must haves” for when the kids are around. Bread, cereal, milk, peanut butter, bananas, etc. and then I can get a few additional items for dinner and various recipes I’ve found I like making as a single dad.  The system really seems to be efficient on time and cost effective. I am provisioned with plenty of lunch items. this keeps me eating more healthy and spending less money on the numerous restaurants near my workplace.

Despite the tediousness of laundry and re-provisioning the pantry, I have been feeling more prepared to take on the week. It even feels like progress in recovery. Taking the right moves and the right actions so I can be a functioning human being instead of a stressed-out overwhelmed one. Rituals are an important part of any adult life, especially one trying to live in recovery. I view it as one part inventory; a very physical, necessary for healthy living, literal inventory and one part meditation. Taking time to focus on my contact with my higher power by being present and prepared for the week’s challenges.