I met Dale and Allie late in the evening on the last night of June. I'd driven to Riverside (home of lots of citrus and the frozen burrito patent-er) from central LA just in time for bed. Which was at 9pm, because we were waking up at 4:30 the next day. Naturally.
I've decided to organize this post with a calendar theme. I only lived with Dale and Allie for two days, but I learned about how they spend their individual days and entire years. Prepare to get wiser just reading this.
The Mission Inn in Riverside, where they stayed in January 2017.
January, each year
Dale and Allie step away from daily life, spend a few days at a hotel, and debrief on the past year. They hang out, reflect, and set goals. Everyone in America should do this, I've decided.
5:00 am Saturday, weekly
Dale and Allie leave their home each week to meet a group called the Redlands Runegades. They meet at Panera, run twelve miles, then eat breakfast together. These people are runners—intense, amazing runners—yes. But they are also inspiring in the way they live their lives, and that's one reason Dale and Allie spend time around them. They're from Germany, Australia, South Africa—everywhere. Dale and Allie also spend time with this group to be real-life Christians in these people's friend groups. Subversive. Sneaky. Actually, it's not secretive at all. Dale called it part of the "woof and weft" of their lives—that's the white strings on the back of a rug that hold it together. Hanging out with people who aren't like them is a part of their lifestyle because it's important to them.
Sunrise-ish, daily
In this picture, I'd told Dale to make his "barista face." He is a boss at espresso creations, which Allie said has been "good for [their] marriage." Ha. This is what he made me the afternoon after our 4:30 wake-up call.
Daily, weekly, continually
Dale and Allie would listen and talk and share stories and let the other share the story. They can describe who does which chores because they've adjusted it to their individual preferences. They choose to say "I would prefer ____" when they discuss something, because they've found it staves off annoyance and misunderstanding. They decide how to spend their time and money and energy, and that's how they spend it.
Dale and Allie don't live solely by routine. The Sunday I was there, we went on a hike instead of going to church, because their running group had a once-a-year Fourth of July hike. But Dale and Allie's intentional scheduling and self-awareness have become the structural support for the life they want to live. It allows them to hang virtue and love and cut-out Christmas cards on the timeline of their days. They're becoming the people they want to be, because they're selecting their goals and acting on them.
