Enjoying the Public Gardens in Halifax N.S. - Captured by Nicole Payzant 

Creating a balanced weekend has become my little piece of heaven in what can be stressful or busy seasons.  The more busy I am, the more protective I am about how I spend my weekends.  Down time is essential to pour out during the weeks into our jobs, our families, our friends and our passions.

Five strong elements to a successful weekend lifestyle.

1.  Plan for the week to come.  

I do this to stay sane and I preferably do most of it Friday night.  It can be as simple or as complex as it needs to be.  My personal week prep is somewhere in the middle.  Figuring out the next weeks wants, needs, and musts as soon as possible leaves me free to enjoy my time over the weekend.  

2. Quiet time.

Reading, napping, journaling.  A bath.  Anything quiet.

3. Quality time with family.

This can be complex for us, as we have a fair amount of family members who want to see our toddler on a regular basis.  We do our best and try to share the time.  The most complicated is during a holiday weekend or weekend of birthdays.  For some reason our families all have birthdays in pairs.  Our fathers share the same birthday week, Our mothers the same birthday month only a week after mothers day, both close cousins share the same birthday week, grandparents etc.  It means that outside of the typical holiday weekends we spend 4 other weekends trying to split our time.  Sometimes this means we don't see them on their birthdays because we have our own personal commitments.  This is just how it is sometimes.  Quality weekend visits are better than rushed ones.

4. A Seasonal Activity 

Recently it has been the beach, and we recently went to the public gardens after our Saturday  morning farmers market run.  Other times its winter walks, skating, etc.  Find a seasonal activity you love and incorporate it.  Fresh air is always best.

5. Enjoy your person.

When you live with someone, especially when you live together with children it can be easy to let the busy week mean that you don't get that time to see each other outside of "Wow, that was a rough day."  Generally speaking I mostly ache for those Saturday nights in, sipping wine and taking a bite out of food Jeremy made for us while we watch our favourite shows and talk in-between.  It's our most bonding time and we often end up falling into some sort of laughter or revelation after our Saturday nights together.

A typical weekend for us

Friday Night : Prep for the week to come.
Saturday: Farmers market / chore morning, Quiet time, Seasonal activity, Quality time alone together.
Sunday:  Church, Quiet time, Family time, Detox night / Dancing (blues dance).