Weekend Engagement#184- Reclaiming My Weekends for What Truly Matters Most

Reclaiming My Weekends for What Truly Matters Most

---

---

Like most professionals grinding through stressful jobs, I normally live for Friday evening's sweet release signaling the start of blessed weekend time. A badly needed chance to decompress, have fun with loved ones, and shake off work's burden before Monday demands my soul back. Well my own activities during the weeks days are filled with running my home, preparing the kids for school and the like and which makes my routine sort like boring, so yes I look forward to weekends sometimes when I am not going to school for that weekend, Yet funnily enough, when those 48 weekend hours actually arrive, I rarely capitalize fully on the gift of this free time lately.

---

---

Instead of sharing hearty laughs over steaming plates of suya and puff puff with dear friends, I wind up alone endlessly scrolling. Rather than adventure dates with my partner and kids filled with Lagos nightlife discovery, we default to TV binging in sweatpants. Don't even get me started on how often I choose tackling overflowing chores over candlelit self-care or family fun...

Well, not anymore! As 2024 dawns before me, I am wholly committed to transforming how I spend these golden weekend opportunities from here forward. No more squandering what little precious personal hours I have outside of school and some house chores in numb autopilot mode. I vow to start nurturing ONLY what genuinely brings me and my loved ones joy, purpose, rest during this fleeting time off the relentless career treadmill.

That means proactively scheduling adventures that spark our souls, strengthen bonds, remind me what I’m working so hard for daily in the first place. Activities like weekend canvas painting dates or writing time where my kids and I can unleash our creativity giggling together. Even simple Sundays centered wholly in self-care just for me—whipping up my favourite meal recipe from childhood while jamming to Afrobeats or some gospel music to lift my soul, followed by a rejuvenating refreshing cold bath.

Of course, creating space for living aligned to my deeper needs and bringing such restorative weekend visions into being demands intention and some practical preparation too. Saying “no” to extra house chores so I protect personal time already on the calendar. Saving up enough earnings towards quarterly weekend getaways at cozy places in lagos with people I adore. Meal prepping healthy freezable dishes on Sunday nights so I don't exhaustingly grapple with dinner during the week days. Establishing fierce boundaries to honor not just my those who need my help or something but also MY needs for adequate house chores integration.

This is the year I finally take back control of my weekends as the sacred recharging and relationality ritual they are meant to embody. Let the Saturday morning bakery hopping with friends and family begin. Bring on those long rainy Saturdays tucked away breaking bread and sharing dreams together, I cannot wait to infuse this cherished little free time with exactly what my heart and soul craves most, cause it is certainly what I really do need for 2024.

_{Images used here are mine}