On Friday, Bonnie’s mom woke up three hours earlier than usual and got ready for church. She argued with me when I told her it was Friday. She also still insisted that my sister-in-law was coming to pick her up at 9:15 a.m., even after I showed her that it was already 9:44 a.m.

So, you can imagine my bemusement when she woke up yesterday and, again, got ready to go to church. Didn’t we do this yesterday, I thought. It’s fucking Groundhog Day, and just like the movie, it’s never the day you want to keep reliving.

I guess we were only stuck in a two-day Groundhog Day event because she woke up and got ready for church again this morning but then actually went to church this time.

It’s Been Groundhog Day Since COVID

One of the best lines from Groundhog Day is when Bill Murray says, “What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?” And then the other guy says, “That about sums it up for me.” The way these past few years have gone, I’m not sure I would notice if I were reliving the same day.

I eat the same thing every day, and I’m not bothered. It’s actually quite comforting, and it saves me a lot of time and frustration in planning my meals. I don’t have to find recipes or make shopping lists. I know what I have at home, and what I need when I go to the store. If I’m unsure, no problem, I just buy it anyway. It won’t go bad because it will get eaten.

I wear the same shirt and pants every day, too, and for the same reasons. Although, it’s not the same exact shirt and pants. I had 30 shirts printed, and I have more than one pair of identical pants, but you get the idea.

I’ve been riding the same section of the same bike path for almost twenty years, and it never gets old or boring. I guess I’m a creature of habit. What it really is, is that I like predictability. Having a core routine frees my mind to focus on other things. I don’t have to think about what I’m doing for the first couple of hours every day. My morning routine has been exactly the same for at least the past two years. That leaves my mind free to think about what I’m going to do during the day, or anything else, really.

I Could Be Phil Conners

I don’t think experiencing a Groundhog Day event would bother me in the slightest. In fact, I think I would really like it because after a few days, I would be able to predict what everyone else was going to do and say. The chaos that everyone around me creates is the most stressful part of my life, so if I could eliminate that, the way I have eliminated the need to decide what to eat and wear each morning, well, that would be like a super power. Sign me up!