Accepting My Need for Routine

A friend of mine posted yesterday about an article about introverts.  I am quite decidedly an introvert.  In the article she referenced, 22 out of the 23 characteristics mentioned described me.  Her post was interesting, though, because she talked about how our culture thinks there is something wrong with introverts, that we need to be fixed, and how people are finally starting to realize that there is value in these characteristics as well.  It was encouraging to read her post and to read the article because it helped me understand the why of why I do some of the things I do or feel certain ways.  (I am in no way excusing sinful behaviors, more things like feeling panic-y if I have to participate in small talk or feeling alone in a crowd.) 
It also brought to mind something else that I have accepted about myself in the last week.  I need a very scheduled routine.  We are in our seventh week of school, and the first six weeks have been kind of chaotic.  We had no real routine, and many things were allowed to interrupt our day to the point that it was sometimes taking until suppertime to finish our work.  I found this very frustrating because we couldn't fully enjoy the fun things that were interrupting us as we knew we still had work to do.  This past weekend I worked out a rough daily schedule, and this week has gone beautifully.  I feel more orderly in my mind, and we are finishing school before lunch with time to ride bikes and go to the playground.
So you may be asking...why was this so hard for you to accept, why didn't you just set up your routine right from the get go?  Well, my life has been filled with people who have told me that I need to relax, go with the flow.  I distinctly remember hearing from one youth leader that I needed to chill out.  All these voices speaking into my life drowned out what I do know to be true about how I function best and said that there was something wrong with it.  I don't have a hard time with, on a Saturday, just hopping in the car with Joel and doing whatever he wants without knowing what it is.  But in our daily life, I need routine.  And I am okay with that.  The children are functioning much better.  We are getting quite a bit accomplished each day and having a lot of fun together.  Everyone knows what is expected of them.  Life is much smoother!

(Here is the link to the original article about introverts!)