Regular R&R does the soul good. It gives us a chance to refocus our energy and rejuvenate our minds. I’ve been setting aside time for myself each Sunday for the last couple of months. It’s become a sort of loose Sunday routine. The intent behind these Sunday habits is to make me feel relaxed, happy and healthy – and it refines my entire week.
Before I started freelancing earlier this year, my husband and I had a different Sunday routine. I’d make our grocery list and meal plan, and we’d head to the store together. But, sourcing healthy meal options and making the list could sometimes take 30 minutes to an hour. Then, you add an hour at the grocery store, plus 15 minutes putting groceries away when we got home. If I wanted to do any meal prepping, I’d start that next.
I loved my husband and I going to the grocery store together. It made grocery shopping fun, and it was a ritual we’d created in our marriage. But, I didn’t love how groceries and food took up such a large chunk of our Sunday. When I began freelancing from home, I stopped grocery shopping as a Sunday habit. Instead, I fit the grocery store into my weekly schedule so that we had more time for us on the weekends. Whether that was quality time for our marriage or quality time for ourselves.
My Sunday routine is now more lax, and it involves something new – intentional self-love. I’ll mask my face or do various skin treatments. I’ll have a bath, which my sweet husband always runs for me. I’ll catch up on my favorite TV dramas. I’ll paint my nails and moisturize. And, I’ll have some wine or mimosas. These may seem like simple things, but it’s the simple things in life that make us feel like ourselves. Giving my skin TLC helps it stay clear (at least most of the time) and having polished nails makes me feel feminine. And the trash TV? I just love watching it, and I won’t apologize for it. I’m doing things for myself that will help me put my best foot forward on Monday morning. These simple acts of self-love make me a more confident version of myself.
It’s in these couple of hours that I come back to myself. I can think back on my previous week and strategize for the new week. I give myself a chance to get all my thoughts back to a centered place. And at some point on Sunday, I’ll meal prep the week’s lunches.
Just knowing my husband and I will have a healthy lunch each day takes stress off me. I don’t like us to eat too unhealthily – it makes me feel tired and bloated and can make my skin flare up with acne. And, I hate the idea of my husband going through a drive-thru on his lunch break. But, prepping our lunches also makes the week feel more organized. I don’t have to worry about making healthy choices for lunch because I already did. The intent to eat healthy and to make healthy options available feels so good. It’s self-love.
I guess my new Sunday routine still involves food – but, it’s less obligatory and more self-serving. Taking time each Sunday to enjoy myself and prepare for the week completely changes my week. From the get go, I’m acting with intent and I’m setting myself up for a positive, healthy week. And when I feel good, I’m the better version of myself. I can be better friend, sister, daughter, writer and wife. Wife – that’s the keyword. When our marriage is positive, happy and healthy, I’m truly happy in life. We’re more intimate. We communicate more. And, it makes us better together. But I can’t contribute positively to our marriage if I’m not a healthy version of me. I need that self-love and me time to be the better version of me.
Even on busy weekends, squeezing in just a little intentional self-love, makes me feel renewed and ready for the week ahead.
A version of this article was originally published at modwife.co