I used to have no particular feelings about Wednesdays.
Mondays, at least, have a sense of a fresh start.
Fridays come with clear things to look forward to.
Saturdays and Sundays hardly need any explanation of their value.
But what about Wednesdays?
They’re just stuck in the middle.
It’s already a long way from the last weekend, yet not quite close enough to the next one.
When I wake up on a Wednesday morning, I don’t usually think:
“What an exciting day.”
I’m more likely to glance at the calendar and start counting down how long until my next day off.
I treat Wednesdays like a hallway.
Just something to get through quickly—no need to decorate it.
It’s not just Wednesdays.
I find myself treating ordinary days this way all the time.
Weekdays are just a means to get to the weekend.
This month is just a wait for next month’s trip.
The busyness of the present is just so I can finally relax in the future.
Life feels like a series of airport lounges.
The things truly worth enjoying are always at the next stop.
The problem is, most of our lives don’t happen during holidays, trips, or major celebrations.
It happens on Wednesdays.
It happens during ordinary breakfasts, on the way home from work, on laundry nights, and on afternoons with no special plans.
If I’m only willing to feel happy on days that are “worth it,” then a huge chunk of my life is reduced to nothing more than a transition.
That doesn’t seem quite fair.
After all, Wednesdays show up and do their best, too.
So, I started planning a little something for Wednesdays.
Not a big event.
Nor a “Weekday Must-Be-Exciting Plan” that would just add to my stress.
Just something to look forward to that day.
Sometimes it’s stopping by my favorite coffee shop during my lunch break.
Sometimes it’s buying a modest bouquet of flowers after work.
Sometimes it’s watching an old movie I’ve been meaning to see after dinner.
And once, I made pancakes on a Wednesday night.
For no particular reason.
I just figured it was okay to have pancakes in the middle of the week.
The joy that decision brought far outweighed the technical difficulty of making the pancakes themselves.
These little gestures didn’t make work disappear.
Thursday mornings still come around.
Emails don’t stop coming just because I bought a bouquet of flowers.
The kitchen doesn’t clean itself just because tonight is “Special Wednesday.”
But that day is no longer just something to wait for to end.
It now has its own little mark.
I’ve also started paying more attention to the good things that are already part of my daily life.
The sunshine was lovely.
Lunch was better than I expected.
A coworker said something that made me laugh for a long time.
My favorite song came on just as I was heading home.
These things happened before, too.
It’s just that I was too busy waiting for more significant joys to pay them enough attention.
Of course, we need to look forward to the weekend.
We need vacations.
We need those big plans marked on the calendar months in advance.
Major joys have their place.
But small joys are better at filling up our lives.
They don’t require taking time off work.
They don’t require a big budget.
And they don’t demand that the weather, what we’re wearing, and everyone’s schedules all align perfectly.
Sometimes, a new mug can make the morning a little better.
A short walk can break up the afternoon.
Taking the time to cook a meal you love can also add a touch of celebration to an ordinary evening.
I still wouldn’t call Wednesday the most exciting day of the week.
That would be a bit of an exaggeration.
But I no longer see it as a hallway I have to rush through.
It’s a room, too.
A room where I can turn on the lights.
Put a bouquet of flowers.
Sit down and stay for a while.
Life doesn’t just begin on the weekend.
Many of the moments that truly make up life happen on the days we’re usually prepared to rush right past.
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