Yesterday I think I had the best saturday of my life. Let me give you a run down of what happened:
- I “woke up” early with Willy’s alarm (6:45) and got out of bed shortly after
- I read a Psalm
- I was at the grocery store by 9am
- I came back, helped tidy the kitchen, prepped lunch
- I started a load of laundry
- (Accidentally?) Cleaned the bathroom
- Ate lunch
- Evaluated the status of how on-top of our Picture a Week project we are
- Headed off to a baby shower
- Came back, baked bread for spelt hamburger buns
- Made one of W’s favourite meals: Chicken Piquant
- Cleaned up, read some of Anne of Avonlea, and headed off to a movie with W.
If you don’t immediately understand why this was so great, let me help you understand.
I did laundry, cleaned the bathroom and groceries ALL IN THE SAME DAY. I do not really like groceries or cleaning and laundry can feel like a nuisance. Often when I spend my Saturdays on these activities it feels like it’s all I’ve done and I’m annoyed that I didn’t get to relax or do nice things that I like (I know… this will be parenthood and the rest of my life, right?)
I did some hobby-type things instead of watching more Netflix. I filled 20 minutes here and there with reading, keeping on top of our annual scrapbook and baking.
I was selectively social and left before I had had too much. I love this term because it describes how I feel after a week filled with people. I will always been an extravert, but sometimes I need time with certain people or anybody but certain people. It was an enjoyable afternoon celebrating the baby of a friend a few weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy.
I made good food for the man I love. I listened to CBC Radio 2 and made a heart-warming supper. I forgot how I do like to cook when I feel confident about what I’m doing and I’m not stressed for time. It felt good.
Unplanned
I think part of what made this day the best was that I had some key things in place that I needed to do but I hadn’t planned out my day to the point that it felt stressful. They were all executed at a leisurely pace and wasn’t the end of the world if I didn’t do them. But the most important thing was getting up early so I felt I had time to do everything without feeling like everything was rushed and terrible.
I’m writing this out mostly because I will always need a reminder of
- why getting up early is good, and;
- why staying on top of things like groceries, laundry and cleaning will always feel better when it’s done.
I’m sure I’ve written about this before – how I have selective memory. I forget that things I don’t like to do actually feel good when it’s done. It’s like playing certain boardgames with people. I will NEVER want to. But I’ve learned that if I agree despite my zero interest or desire, I may actually still have fun and enjoy my time.
I said to W at supper, “I think I have reached the peak of my life today, and I will never have this perfect a Saturday ever again. I think I’m ok with that, because at least I know it happened.”
Kind of sad, but I’m anticipating my life to be totally upside down once baby comes. Part of me wants to try to make Saturdays like this (flexibly?) regimented and habitual. The other part of me is afraid that if I try to do that I will add all kinds of pressure and expectation and it will culminate in epic failure and disappointment.
This day reminds me that I do need more order and structure in my life to help me manage everything, and I’m still trying to figure out how to do that as painlessly as possible.
