YOLO

Audrey Linola, Age 29

I have a wonderful life. I am a happily married woman with two beautiful children: eight year old Tyler and six year old Cassie. I live in a three bedroom, two story, two bathroom house in Indiana. Oh, life.

"Mommy, mommy! Look, I ate all my spasketti!" Cassie picks her plate up an shows it to me with a proud look splattered on her little face. She has the same dark blue eyes as her father. Tyler has the same chocolate brown ones as me.

"Oh, good job, honey! Now go put it in the sink just like Tyler did, ok?" I finish off my own food and go to rinse off the dishes while my husband, Daniel, picks up Cassie and takes her to the bathroom for a bath. Every single night, I do the dishes, Daniel bathes our daughter, and I set up the children's bedrooms and lay out their outfits for the next day.

Both our children are in their beds at precisely eight fifteen, and I change into my own pjs: long, plaid flannel bottoms and a solid white long-sleeved shirt. I braid my plain brown hair back while Daniel showers and we climb into bed together at nine with the tv on quietly in the corner.

Our bedroom is simple: beige carpet, creamy white walls, and one window that looks down on our driveway. I like things plain. It keeps life easy. That's also why I live such a scheduled life. It avoids cluster and frustration.

The next morning, I wake up at seven forty-five, wake Daniel up, and we each get a child ready. He makes breakfast (it's Wednesday, which means a strip of bacon and a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats per person) while I shower. I blow dry my hair and don't put on any makeup, because I don't own any. We are all at the kitchen table together at the same time, then we all get into our one car: a silver Chevy Cobalt.

Every weekday, we drop the kids off at Timberwood Elementary, then I drop Daniel off at his work, and drive myself to my own job a mile up the street. We both are very high-up in our companies, and we both work in a headquarters building. I pull up into my reserved parking spot, make the short trek to the elevators, and hit the button for the fifty-seventh floor. I arrive at the same time, do the same thing, and leave at the same time each day.

At five on the dot, I am done working, and I pull into Timberwood Elementary at exactly five thirty, after picking up Daniel. Timberwood has an after-school program that is just perfect for my little kids: one hour spent doing crafts and reading, a half hour spent relaxing, and a half hour of indoor playtime. So simple and wonderful.

We go through the same dinner routine: Daniel bathes Tyler as I cook, while Cassie gets thirty minutes of playing on the swing set that is set up right outside the large kitchen window so that I can always keep an eye on her. Tyler gets his thirty outdoor minutes while I do the dishes. I refuse to use our dishwasher, because I can do what is needed just fine by myself.

After dinner, we do our nighttime routine. The next morning, it'll start all over again. I hope it stays this way for the rest of my life.

I love simple.

But sometimes, if I am in bed awake late at night, I can't help but wonder: how much more enjoyable could my life be if I just let things go and happen on their own? Sometimes - just sometimes - I think it would be better...