Weekend reframe

I have a case of the Mondays on Saturday.

I see all these posts abut living for the weekend and almost the weekend, and maybe it's the Whole30 totaling, but for me, the weekend seems kind of daunting.  So far, we have done a good job of whittling down the activities the kids are involved in, which has helped the weekends be both smoother and more meaningful.

But!  The meal planning and prep is much easier when everyone leaves and goes about their days.  Ben and I are also kind of crabby about our food choices, and we are not as good at giving the other person the benefit of the doubt as we usually are, and the lack of structure makes me worry about where all of my time will go.

I also sort of feel like I get ZERO time for myself on the weekends.  It's all meal planning and grocery shopping and chores and kid stuff. Now that the kids have later bedtimes, Ben and I don't get to really relax until we are ready to pass out ourselves.  And if there's a work thing I need to think about?  Stress city.

Clearly I need a little weekend reframing

• It's a blessing (seriously) to get to spend this time with my family.  In just a few years, Harry is going to be in college, for goodness sake.
• Alcohol and desserts are clearly not the only way to reward myself.  How about taking a walk around the neighborhood with Beatrix or one of the kids? Playing a hand of euchre with Ben and the big boys? Doing a face mask and using a bath bomb at the end of the day? Watching a movie I missed in the theater (and right now the list is long because we haven't been going to movies lately)?  Choosing to spend a chunk of time sitting quietly with my book instead of rushing around cleaning something someone is just going to mess up anyway?
• Grocery shopping is a task, that's for sure, but Jack loves shopping with me, so if he and I go together, it will be more fun.  Also, Ben is not a huge fan of sitting down to plan meals with me.  If I just do the planning on my own, it's not like he's going to refuse to eat something.  In fact, quite the opposite is true. He is really happy with whatever we make. I feel like he should share the emotional labor of planning meals, but maybe we'd both be happier if I just did it myself.
• Ditto sleeping in.  That's never going to happen for me, but it could for Ben.  I am going to try getting up a little early one day this weekend and using the time to relax and read or write before everyone else wakes up.  Maybe this wil help me feel more centered and ready to start the day?
• I also need to make sure I don't check my work emails from 5pm on Friday through 5 am (that's when I wake up. Blurgh.) Monday.  To make this happen, I need to clear my to-do list and my inbox by end of business of Friday, so there's no stress hanging over my hear.  the exception is the online adjunct work I do.  Most of my online students have other lives and jobs, so I need to be available to them on weekends.
• One more thing I am going to try is to treat myself on Fridays.  I am going to campus early every day of the week, and so far, this is working SO WELL for me.  On Fridays, though, I am going to work from home in my jammies, at least until lunchtime.  To make this happen, I need to be super productive the rest of the week-- talk about a great reward.  For my first Friday, I am going to indulge in blueberries with almond butter and coconut and this hot nut cereal, along with Good Earth sweet and Spicy tea and Designing Women in the background.  And I am going to go crazy and change all of the sheets and wash all of the duvet covers.  I CANNOT EVEN WAIT.
• Finally, I am going to try to add exercise to my weekend.  Usually, I am happy with 5 days a week of cardio, but maybe some exercise will feel good and give me the alone time I seem to miss.  Or I could take a kid to cram in some extra 1:1 time.

Anyone else have reverse dread-- weekend dread on Friday, instead of weekday dread on Sunday?  And what have you done to have a happier weekend?

One other note: JACK SPRAINED HIS ANKLE AT RECESS and is on crutches until further notice, which really puts a wrench in his trampolines and tumbling class...