I have a Friday night routine. Of all my nights, Friday nights are the most sacred. They are my Sabbath. After I leave work on a Friday evening, nothing work-related happens—no emails, no grading, no lesson-planning, nothing. I need one entire night that is dedicated to not working. However, I still have a routine but it is a routine that leads me to rest.

When I get home on a Friday, there are chores to be done, such as washing the dishes, cleaning the catboxes, and making sure there is something for dinner. These are more than just chores; they are steps that help me transfer from being at work to being in my home and to have a home that I am content in. Not everything needs to be spic-and-span, necessarily, but enough has been done to ensure that major chores are dealt with. Dishes, litter-boxes, trash, recycling, etc. Sure, I have a partner who can and does help but I also find a bit of calm and reassurance in doing these chores myself. Then, once they are done, I can eat contentedly and then head up to my shower to scald and scour off the week.

Not until all of this is done can I truly feel safe(?) enough to relax. I have been productive both at work and at home and now…now I can sit. My family is cared for, the important spaces of our home are clean and tidy…now I am free. I can feel the release as I settle on the couch and Husband asks if he can get me anything. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes the answer is no, but regardless I am now in my calm space. My routine done, the night is now mine to do with as I need and choose. Reading, writing, catching up on movies or TV shows, or just sitting in silence for a long while…whatever the night holds is utterly my choice. And that is a beautiful, necessary thing.