July 5 & 6: Plan A Weekend to Look Forward to + Lessons Learned

Do you have something you personally look forward to on weekends? Or are you like me where the highlight of those two glorious days is doing the groceries? 😅

Most people look forward to kicking back on weekends, but for me, a SAHM who hardly gets out of the house, my uneventful weekends were sucking the life out of me.

I thought at first the problem was being alone on weekdays, but then I realized I actually like the peace, quiet & structure (with allowances for the baby 😁) I enjoyed on weekdays. And that instead, it was the lazy, sleepy atmosphere of the house on weekends that was driving me nuts.

From this was born my definition of being ‘stuck in a rut’, to me it is the lack or absence of contrast. There is absolutely nothing wrong with routine. I love routine. It provides comfort, structure, ease & control. But doing it for too long without regularly coming up for air is deadly. Ever gone on a vacation? Don’t those very same things that drove you to take that vacation in the first place seem to be the very same things you’re dying to get back to with energy (& vivaciousness 😋)?

And that’s where this planning your weekend comes in. For far too long I have been doing the same things, stuck in the house week after week, the only ‘break’ being the trip to the grocery store every Sunday. What a pity! When in fact I was free to change it anytime I wanted to.

But believe you me I only embraced this about 3 weeks ago when I came across a self-help book that asked “What one thing can you do this week that will improve your circumstances?”. That’s when I realized I could change it instead of allowing it to steal my joy. (And by the way, isn’t that question just powerful? I will share this book with you sometime soon. Promise!)

The answer was easy: enroll in an aerobics class. This is perfect because there’s a set schedule, it’ll get me out of the house and around people, and it’s in alignment with my fitness goals. And more importantly, I can leave the baby with the husband for a change.

Unfortunately the 8am and 9am available schedule proved to be too early for us 😅 The whole house is usually still asleep at 9 but ….

…. to me the problem is already half solved. I will try again next Saturday, if only to check the place out & get ‘warmed up’ to the idea/schedule.

So yesterday, since we were already out of the house, we discovered a newly opened (& posh!) spa village which has gotten me really excited about devising a reward system for my fitness goals (squeak!!), I bought a pair of palazzo pants in beautiful batik print (not sure which pile it belongs to yet 😂), we discovered a coffee shop that sells delectable cakes (oh no!), and I saw a few other things that ‘sparked joy’ and which I have since added to my shopping list 😅 😅

Plus I came home happy & inspired (as opposed to when I do the groceries 😂).

Next mini-assignment: start/stop something.