Day in the Life

I missed the boat yesterday with all the “day in the life” posts from Jenni’s #BlogEveryDayInMay challenge, but I really wanted to take the day, one month after the Boston Marathon, to talk about running. Also, since I have a few new readers hopping over from Cornflake Dreams, where I’m guest posting about a possible honeymoon destination, today seemed like a perfect opportunity to take you through the routines of a Washingtonian!

Of course, I’m not every Washingtonian. We’ve all got our own things going on, which is what makes this city so awesome. My daily schedule is directed by Charlie, my fully-grown black lab puppy; my day job as an arts fundraiser downtown; and navigating a five-hour time difference between DC and London, where my English fiancé lives. Unless I’ve got a doppelgänger wandering around town, I imagine it all makes for a unique day – so want to come along?

5:30am – Charlie wakes me up by stretching and yawning really loudly next to my bed. If I don’t respond, he puts his face next to mine on the bed and whines softly. If I still don’t respond, he thinks it’s because my ears are dirty, so he licks them invasively until I sit up.

5:30-8:30am – After I pull myself out of bed, we go outside for a quick pee and a nose around the bushes in front of our building. I’m not quite decently dressed when this happens so I make sure we’re out and back in as fast as possible and then I make coffee, give Charlie his breakfast, and catch up on personal emails, Twitter, and Facebook until Charlie decides it’s time to go out for real. We walk to the local dog park, and, ideally, Charlie plays with his friends for about 20 minutes, which is just enough time to wear him out so that he’ll nap until the walker comes around noon. (He’s been playing a bit too aggressively recently; when that happens we leave the dog park earlier and extend our walk instead.) Once we get back home, I eat breakfast over my laptop, Charlie at my feet under the table, and visit blogland briefly. And, at some point during this time, I get my first "morning, baby!" text of the day from Jon.

When I lived in suburbia, it would take me nearly an hour (and $3.55 each way) to commute when you included walking to/from the Metro. Now that I’m in my new apartment, it takes 30 minutes (and $1.60 each way) by walking and hopping on the bus. It’s so much more pleasant!

9:00-5:00 – My day isn't generally a strict 9-5 but, assuming I don’t have an evening event for work, I pack up when I've crosssed everything off my to-do list and head home to Charlie.

5:30-9:00 – Like twelve hours earlier, Charlie and I fight for control of this window of time. He usually wins; we head out immediately for a short walk and then I try to keep him entertained while Skyping with Jon. This means that I end up having my one real conversation of the day with my fiancé on the floor, and it’s punctuated by squeaks from Charlie’s toy when I play with him and growls from Charlie himself when I don’t. (Poor Jon!) When Jon has to go to bed or Charlie gets to be too demanding – whichever comes first – I sign off, change into my running clothes, and clip on Charlie’s leash. We either do a few loops around the neighborhood or make our way into Rock Creek Park and are out for about an hour. When we get back home, Charlie gets his dinner and then passes out on his bed, finally giving me time to make my own dinner, which, again, I eat over my laptop. I usually keep the TV off unless there’s something specific I want to watch, but I am glued to the internet. I catch up on any old shows I may have missed, read and comment on my favorite blogs, and work on my post for the next day. By 9pm, I’m exhausted.

9:00-10:30 – Since I’ve gone for a run earlier in the evening, I jump into the shower before going to sleep. Charlie and I go out for a final pee, and then he jumps onto the bed as I putter around, cleaning up from dinner and turning off all the lights. I hop into bed if Charlie’s left me enough room and deal with any wedding details that have come up throughout the day – entering RSVPs into our spreadsheet, writing thank-you notes, and researching readings for the ceremony – but try to turn off my computer at least 30 minutes before I go to sleep. Hopefully I have time to flip through a magazine before fading away and finally turning off the light! I’m one of those 8-hours-a-night kinds of girls, so the earlier the better, really…

all photos from Instagram