What does your evening routine look like?

cats_or_get_out · 2015-08-22T00:16:54+00:00

My husband thrives on routine. We have always had a strict bedtime for our child because we crave "adult time"--time where we can do our own thing or spend time with each other, but we get to put away our Mom and Dad personas for a while. (Seriously, go with an early bedtime for the kids! Your marriage will thank you for it.)

When he's home (about 60% of the time), he takes charge of the kid evening bedtime stories. She's almost 10, but we still read to her every night. (We're reading A Wrinkle in Time right now.) It's nice to sit on the couch and hear him read (sometimes I nod off, so I can get a second wind.)

After her bedtime, we have a lot of side-by-side alone activities. He'll paint models and watch a movie, or he'll fly in his flight sims while I read. Sometimes, I like to just have quiet, and I just relax on the couch. We both work full time, so our evening quiet is so soothing. Our best conversations have happened during these hours.

We try not to stay up past 10 pm because as we get older, our bodies are less forgiving about sleep deprivation. It takes a lot of discipline for us go to bed because we just enjoy evenings so much.

Super secret life pro tip: If you are only getting home a minute before him, sauté some onions on the stove. It smells fantastic, and he'll walk in reassured that dinner is on the way (even if it doesn't have any onions). Even though he found out about my onion trick about 10 years ago, he still loves it. He walks in the house with huge grin knowing that dinner is underway. This just sets the tone for a nice evening.

miss-carried · 2015-08-21T15:37:57+00:00

Great question! I'm interested to hear what others say.

My husband likes to have dinner the minute he walks in the door, so I have that ready for him when he gets home (around 4:30 to 5:30 depending - he gets to work early). I am a SAHW / light remote worker, so this is no problem for me to do. If I am going to be out in the afternoon, I usually will plan a crockpot and / or rice cooker meal.

After dinner we do any brief chores that require both of us, like brushing our elderly dog's teeth or landscaping. Otherwise, I try to have everything done before he comes home.

After that, usually around 6PM, we retire to our separate corners for a while so that he can get some alone time, surf the web, work on career stuff. I usually will watch some Netflix with headphones, read, surf the web, knit, paint, text with a girlfriend / my mom, or menu plan - basically anything that I know that will keep me out of his hair.

An hour so later, I will usually interrupt him to hang out in the bedroom a while, and after that I will offer dessert or a snack if we had a light eating day.

That bring us up to about 7:30PM, and after that it's pretty freeform. He may go back to his work / downtime if he needs more of it, or he may request to read or watch TV together. Or we may go on a walk. We usually go to bed between 8:30 and 9:30PM, since we get up at 5AM every morning.

Kittenkajira · 2015-08-21T18:32:47+00:00

We've just changed ours about two weeks ago, and are trying something different. It used to be that I did my business stuff during the day, leaving the evenings open to follow his lead. Note I work from home and the Boss works M-F full time.

Here's the new routine. Monday is a "domestic day" where I do all the chores and in the evening we relax together. I cook a meal after he gets home that will have leftovers for the next day. Tuesday and Thursday I do my business stuff the entire day and evening, and Boss does his own thing. We join for dinner of leftovers (or a really easy one) while I take a break. Wednesday is my day off, and in the evening we do exercise and yard work together. I think Wednesday might become errand/grocery shopping day. Again, I cook a meal after he gets home that will have leftovers. On Friday I have a sewing day that often lasts through the evening. It's his chance to do his hobbies or play video games.

It seems to be better for us, mainly because it's giving him time by himself. I think people really need that time alone to think of ideas and bring them to life. He used to do the dishes while I cooked, but I've switched to doing the dishes as well as cooking so that he can have a chance to relax or come chat with me in the kitchen. I appear to be able to do more in 2 full days of work than I used to do spreading it over the week. We've ended up being very busy on Tuesday thru Thursday, but the rest of the week has plenty of time for relaxing and connecting.

orangekayla · 2015-08-22T06:51:07+00:00

My evenings have become very odd as of late. My husband now works afternoon to early morning so I don't see him much during the week. I cook dinner for the both of us and put his portion in the fridge. I also set a glass in the freezer to chill for his beer. Sometimes I'll leave a cutesy note on the fridge for him. I tidy up the house so he comes home to peace and quiet, and go to bed early. I do this so I can wake for a few minutes when he gets home to greet him.

Friday nights I stay up to be with him and have a hot dinner ready when he gets home. This means sometimes we're having dinner at two in the morning! Staying up so late gives me time to do in depth cleaning though so I don't mind.

Because our schedules conflict so much I am alone quite a bit. I've taken this time to improve on my physical appearance, broaden my interests, and work towards bettering myself in general. I know that he won't be away so much when he advances in his career and I want him to see an improvement when we're together more often than just weekends.

ragnarockette · 2015-08-21T16:36:03+00:00

We usually get home around 6:30 (him from work, me from gym).

If he's home first, he'll usually pull out what's needed for dinner, and perhaps do some very light prep work (maybe rinsing the veggies). I get home and finish preparation. I'll usually pop things in the oven and then jump in the shower. He relaxes with a beer.

After I'm all clean, I serve up dinner and we eat together at the table (sometimes the TV is on, so sue me!). Then I clean up. He helps sometimes but usually he surfs the internet on the couch.

Then we might watch a documentary together, do the NYTimes crossword, or take the dog for a walk. Most nights we take a quick break from TV to go to the bedroom. Sometimes we give each other massages. Occasionally we go out and meet with friends.

Usually around 9 I get ready for bed - brush teeth, floss, wash face, night creams, etc. He usually stays up and does some work for another hour and then comes to bed.

___goldilocks___ · 2015-08-23T15:42:44+00:00

I've recently been much better about a routine (8 month old is finally a bit more consistent). Since she's down every night by 6:30 and husband is home most nights ~9 I pick up toys, do dishes, sweep/mop If needed (little one is eating solids and it's messy!) then I get to work. When hubby gets home I stop what I'm doing and greet him, ask about his day, and see if he needs anything. Usually he works on his side projects until we shower and go to bed.

fuck-this-noise · 2015-08-24T01:33:11+00:00

I get home at 5.30pm, he gets home at about 7. I prepare dinner from 5.30 - 6.00ish (depending on what we're having). It cooks between 6 and 7 while I get the house clean, washing done, shirts ironed, etc - and he's home when dinner is ready at 7. We then have the rest of the evening free (still child free at this stage!)

He needs more time to 'tune off' without electronics before sleep so he goes to bed at 11 - I get everything ready for the morning (his breakfast and lunch, lay his shirt out, put his socks/shoes next to the couch etc) and join him in bed by about 20 past 11. Note that 'lunch' is usually a serve of dinner - I cook most meals in 4 serves - 1 for me, 1 for him, 1 for his lunch and 1 for the freezer for later (I get stuck back at work really late maybe once a weel, leaving me no time to cook)

musicalpants · 2015-08-21T23:47:00+00:00

My husband gets home from work, I pass the baby off and finish getting ready, then off to work for me until I get home at 1:30am.

tradmarriageftw · 2015-08-21T19:33:18+00:00

We both work at schools. I get home at 2:30ish. Feed the cat, clean litter box, check mail, change into a dress, etc. When he comes home at 3 I've had my minute to relax. I always get up to greet him and offer a beer, catch up on each other's day. We realized its much easier to relax apart after that. He watches some explosion movie, a sci-fi show or he'll do some wood carving and I'll paint, play guitar, or get work done. He'll tell me when he's ready for dinner. That means I prepare dinner and he finds something we both like to watch. After a few shows or a movie together I do dishes/ clean up the kitchen. We take shower together ;). Feed the cat and get ready for bed.

freebumblebee · 2015-08-21T15:58:50+00:00

I finish up my work day by around 5, and then take the dogs for a long walk. My SO is working like crazy, and often isn't home until 8 or so these days. I get dinner fixed, and sometimes take it to the office since he hates eating late. When he gets home we usually shower off together, eat (if it's not too late) and retire to the living room. We snuggle dogs and then he dozes in my lap while I read or watch tv. Around 1030 I wake him up and help him collapse in the bed.

Honestly, we don't really have evenings anymore and I miss them. We really only get quality time on the weekends.

Title	What does your evening routine look like?
Author	freebumblebee
Upvotes	14
Comments	36
Date	August 21, 2015 3:24 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RedPillWomen
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RedPillWomen/comments/3hux37/what_does_your_evening_routine_look_like/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RedPillWomen/what-does-your-evening-routine-look-like.85541 https://theredarchive.com/post/85541

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