2010-10-11

"Too Patterned"

Tonight I was accused of being "too patterned."  I wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so I asked for clarification first.
1) "you walk your dogs in the same place, at the same time"
--That's something I really don't do.  I do tend to walk my dogs in a certain city on Mondays, but that has more to do with Eric working Mondays than anything.  There are days I walk them as soon as I get home from work and days I don't actually get them out for a walk.  Maybe I need to keep better notes, to see if I really follow a pattern more than I think.

2) "you follow the same schedule all the time"
--This one's a stretch.  I have the same basic morning routine, but doesn't everyone?  My "night routine" is completely non-existent.  Monday and Tuesday I have to be to work at 7:30, so I get up about 6am.  Wednesday and Thursday I have to be there at 8, so I get up about 6:45.  Some days I shower in the morning, some days I don't.  Some days I eat breakfast at home, some days I don't.

I don't even have a set schedule for feeding the animals.  It's a "when I feel like it" schedule.

Maybe all this defensive-ness means I AM too patterned though.  Argh!  And I really thought I had escaped that tendency!

5 comments:

Dawn said...

OK,I am curious, so what if you are patterend? Why would that be a bad thing? Is the concern is that because you are "to patterned" you or your dogs cant handle changes?

Crystal (Thompson) Barrera said...

Yeah, I'm curious about this, too. Why is being "too patterned" a bad thing? I mean, there is so much advice to be consistent, especially with dogs with issues.

That said, I do think we need to provide new and interesting experiences for our dogs, but I try to do that in a framework of predictable experiences so that Maisy knows what's expected of her.

Kristen said...

And really, in an attempt to try and NOT be patterned it messes me up. If I don't transfer items from my pockets as I get dressed... my phone stays at home. If I leash up dogs in the 'wrong' order, I end up putting two leashes on one and none on another (once all THREE leashes went on one dog and none on the others!). If I don't put the ingredients in the cookies correctly.... I'll leave out one. And that is bad.

Or I forget to turn on the oven.

Yet with most stuff I try to not be so patterned. It keeps me entertained!

Sometimes I set up the training room differently...or have students rotate the opposite direction from normal. They have a few moments of distress.

Unknown said...

I don't think being "too patterned" is a bad thing. I mean, I can tell from your posts that you do new things and give them new experiences, so I don't see the problem with having a basic routine.

Megan said...

The comment of being "too patterned" actually came from Eric, so I took it with a grain of salt. But I would agree with you that having a basic pattern is a good thing. It gives stability and predictability. I like both of those things, but for myself and the dogs--a change is great too.

This morning I was wide awake at 5:30am so we went walking in town. I don't think I've ever done that before (and it's highly unlikely to become habit) but we all enjoyed it. The only creatures concerned about this was the cats, they were afraid I was going to leave them all day without feeding them. The horrors!