Tuesdays

Tuesday mornings, I go into work late. I have this glorious window of time to do anything I like. It's different than after work time, when I feel compelled to make dinner, clean up dinner, do something with all the projects I have going on, make lists, pay bills, etc, etc.

Tuesday morning time is a little break in the middle of the week. Mondays and Fridays are the most stressful days for me, so Tuesday mornings are a time to take a deep breath and gear up for the next seven days. It's a time for me to think about what's going on in all aspects of my life. I do a little planning, a lot of relaxing, and sometimes even get things accomplished.

I take my hints from kitten. She's great at observing the world around her, drinking it all in.

Yesterday morning was blissful. It was raining outside. I stayed in my pajamas, lingered over my cereal and the newspaper, and opened up the door to the deck so I could hear the pitter-patter of rain.

I ignored the piles of crap on the kitchen table, and snuggled up on the couch  next to kitten. She's a good snuggle buddy in the mornings.

I had time to read a few e-mails, and catch up on my favorite blogs.

1. Young House Love posted about their postcard display in their home office. An interesting idea!

2. Dana from Made wrote a tutorial for making a grown up skirt with elastic thread. I can't wait to try it.

3. Jessica on Happy Together posted a tutorial for making the dish who ran away with the spoon.

4. I love reading what Kelle Hampton writes about her life. She takes beautiful photos of her two girls.

5. I am definitely going to try this recipe from Smitten Kitchen for blueberry peach cobbler.

6. Prudent Baby blog offers tips for cheeses to try.

And I even took a few photos for some upcoming blog posts I have planned out.

Tuesdays are also an important day for Chris and I. About a month ago, I stumbled onto a blog called Today's Letters. Emily Loerke writes a daily letter to her husband and posts it on this blog. Reading through her letters, you can see that the Loerke's work hard to keep their marriage strong and they seem happy because of it.

One of the things they do is have a discussion each Tuesday. They ask each other three questions:
1. How did you feel loved this past week?
2. What does your upcoming week look like?
3. How would you feel most loved and encouraged in the days ahead?
 
Chris and I have adopted this plan, and so far, I think it has helped improve our communication with each other. I don't think it matters how long you have dated someone, when you make a commitment to spend the rest of your lives together, you have to figure out how to make that happen.
 
In the beginning, when we moved in together, there was a period of adjustment. Chris had to get used to me living in his space, and I needed time to make the space feel like it was mine. We also had to figure out how to make time for ourselves and for each other. Even though we don't have kids, our calendar seems to fill up with activities. Pretty soon, we are looking several months out going, "And we have a free weekend when?"
 
Sitting down each Tuesday and answering those three questions has helped me think about how I feel loved by Chris- through actions? things he says? things he does? It's helped me to articulate to him exactly what I need from him that week (help with canning fruit, a date night, a Dr. Mario competition).
 

It's also helpful to touch base about what's happening at work, and to have time to ask "do you think we could make this happen this week?"
 
I think it's important for all of us to have a day to pause, to reflect on how things are going and think about what's to come. 
 
How do you guys do that in your lives? What's your "reset and recharge" day?