Weekly Blogging Challenge: A Day In My Life

It's Wednesday, and for the moment that means taking part in the Weekly Blogging Challenge. This week's prompt is "A Day In My Life".

Y'all, a day in my life is pretty boring. If it's a weekday, then it's wake up, wake everybody else up, desperately wish I could go back to sleep, get some food ready for the boys, take a shower, coax the boys into finally eating their breakfast, coax the boys into getting dressed, then head off to work for a full day of doing improbable things on computers. Then I come home, eat dinner, put the boys through their interminable bedtime routine, and utterly fail to find any writing time.

If it's a weekend or a holiday, then my day is a semi-random mix of housecleaning, video games, and reading, punctuated by meals at odd hours, and an extended break designed to Get The Boys Outside And Make Them Exercise because they're bouncing off the walls and making us crazy. (I will note again -- and I am not at all bitter about this -- that writing time does not figure prominently into this version of the Typical Day either.)

So, y'know, let's not discuss a day in my life. Instead, let's look at a day in the life of my current protagonist, who's in the care of a nameless order running a remote monastery which serves as a sort of finishing school for children of power. Half the point of placing your child in this monastery is to keep them hidden, so naturally the nameless order does not make glossy, full-color brochures describing their curriculum and the natural advantages of their scenic location, but if they did it might sound something like this:

Welcome to the nameless monastery! Located deep in the Grediv mountains, in an unnaturally temperate plateau atop a remote mountain, the monastery is home to select members of the nameless order who will keep your child safely hidden from whatever hereditary enemies, political rivals, or dark mystical forces might otherwise threaten them.

During your child's stay, our brothers and sisters will instruct them in all the skills and knowledge they need to survive -- and thrive -- in the future. A typical day in the monastery might look something like this:

Pre-dawn: Rise, make your ablutions, and pull on your robe.

Dawn: Eat in the dining hall. On most occasions, the fare here is plain but good.

First hour: Exercise. A healthy body is important even to those with power. Running, climbing, swimming, dance, and gymnastics are all typical uses for the hour of exercise.

Second hour: A study of the basics of governance, including the customs, languages, and histories of various lands and peoples; the basis of taxation and expenditure; and the nature and application of laws.

Third and Fourth Hour: Outdoor activities, including riding, woodcraft, various sorts of hunting, sailing, rowing, navigation, and survival.

Lunch: This hour is devoted not only to eating, but also to resting and socializing.

Sixth Hour: Speech. Students will build a solid basic vocabulary, and develop a strong understanding of grammar in order to create their own phrases and chants for a variety of purposes. Acolytes who are already familiar with the grounding of sorcery will be moved to more advanced and specialized studies, depending on their aptitudes and interests.

Seventh Hour: Combat training, including unarmed, melee, and ranged weapons, with an introduction to small-unit tactics and more general study of tactics and strategy. Depending on the day, this class may be extremely physical or entirely devoted to books, maps, and military theory.

Eighth Hour: Specialized Electives for acolytes whose needs or interests are not covered by the standard activities of the day. This can include topics such as poisons and assassinations, learning an additional language, further studies in sorcery, developing or coping with special talents, the world-doors and their exploration, or the taming and care of birds and beasts.

Ninth Hour: Free time, though the Order strongly advises using it for cleanup, laundry, and basic chores. Your child may well expect to be surrounded by servants for the rest of their life, but they should still know how to take care of themselves if something goes wrong.

Dinner: The evening meal is served in the dining hall, but acolytes are allowed and even encouraged to break off and eat elsewhere, including their own rooms, the smaller tables on the balcony, or the gardens.

Evening: While group activities and entertainment are common, evenings are considered free time. A variety of games and books are available, along with the tools (and training, if needed) for a variety of crafts.

Your child's time in the nameless monastery will not only keep them safe, it will help prepare them to deal with almost any situation. How better to prepare them for the duties and stations they will one day assume?

Yeah, that's what my day should be like.