Being Settled/Weeknight Routines

One of things I have enjoyed most about being a newlywed is that general feeling of calm and contentment that comes from being settled. To me this is most evident in our weeknights. Jason and I did not live together until we got married and our pre-wedding weeknights were full of uncertainty—who’s apartment we were going to hang out at, whether we were going to eat dinner together or meet up afterwards (and if we were going to eat dinner—what/where?), etc.  Even when we planned these things out ahead of time, things never felt truly comfortable (or dare I say…settled). It got old.

Once we got married we quickly settled into a weeknight routine, and the effortlessness of it all was one of the first things I think we both equally appreciated about being married. So what does our routine look like? Since I work from home and have no commute, I generally try to have dinner on the table when Jason gets home from work around 6:30-7 (and by that time we are both pretty much starving anyway).  Jason usually does the dishes (much to my relief since cleaning is one of the things I hate most in the world) and we settle in to watch the news (if it is still on) or (my personal favorite) Jeopardy. 

I LOVE Jeopardy. I pretty much kick its butt most nights too. I recently took the online test but I think I got too nervous (it was my first time) and choked. I am hoping one day I can go on and win us some money.

 

That, however, is where our common routine usually ends. We definitely have different “styles” when it comes to weeknights, and that has taken some getting used to.  Because I work from home and don’t interact with actual people on a regular basis (my interactions are limited to phone and email most of the time), I am usually really excited to have someone home to talk to or even just to physically be around. Jason, on the other hand, is usually ready for some “alone time” and wants to do his own thing. At first I took this personally, but now don’t really mind it (most of the time).

Unless there is something on the TV that we are both interested in (e.g., How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, or 30 Rock), Jason usually heads to either 1) our bedroom (where his desk is also located) or 2) his green chair.  Jason did not bring much in the way of furniture to our relationship (thankfully—I already had plenty given that I’d lived alone for 4.5 years before we got married) but he did have a green chair and ottoman that we put into a corner of the living room that we turned into a reading nook.

Our reading nook and Jason's green chair

So while Jason is either reading or messing around on one of his computers, I usually spend the evening watching TV.  It’s bad I know, but I like to relax during the week and relaxing for me is doing something that doesn’t really require much in the way of brain power (Jeopardy aside). I like to read but that is something I usually do in the 30-40 minutes before I go to bed or on the weekend. 

Having a routine has its downfall though—it is easy to get in a rut. Things like Book Club help. As does making plans to meet up with friends for the occasional happy hour or dinner during the week. But more often than not, when Jason and I feel like our weeknights are hitting a rut we spice it up with….a game of Scrabble. That’s right, Scrabble. We are officially old, married, and boring. But at least we are settled!