Tuesdays

Before Steve was able to move from St. Louis to Arkansas, we would talk on the phone A LOT,  dreaming about what our lives would be like when hundreds of miles didn’t separate us. One of the things that I have struggled with my entire adult life is getting mired down by the mundane activities of daily life. Get up, get ready, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch TV, go to bed, get up….you know the drill.  As we would dream together, I told him that what I really wanted was to get out of the mundane, to enjoy life to the fullest, to celebrate because it was a Tuesday. It was during one of our many conversations like this that we decided that we would celebrate on Tuesdays….for no reason at all; and we would celebrate on Wednesdays and Mondays too.

Recently, the first thing that popped up on my Facebook feed was this memory. We had moved into a tiny, and much cheaper apartment, as we were looking for some land. I had just found out that my job was being eliminated. We weren’t sure exactly what our next steps would be. We were planning our wedding and Grace was going through a tough time. Those weren’t easy days. Steve was doing his best to keep things in balance and it was Wednesday.

I came home from work to find this scene. The apartment smelled amazing….it always does when Steve is in the kitchen.  The table was set with our good dishes. Wine and sweet tea was poured in crystal stems. The plates were filled with stuffed bell peppers and sautéed veggies. He had garnished the plate with strawberries, bell pepper and parsley. Our dessert of strawberries with homemade whipped cream was displayed in wine glasses. It was Wednesday.

Today, we joke about our mission to make Tuesdays (or Wednesdays or Mondays….you know the rest) special.  It’s harder some weeks than others to take the time to do it.  Some weeks, we simply fail at it. We get hung up in the mundane.  But we are trying….trying to be intentional about celebrating the little things, making sure that we create an environment where we don’t need a special occasion to have a special occasion. 

I’m excited about what today holds…..not because there’s a birthday or an anniversary or some other major holiday. I’m excited about today because it’s Tuesday.