Issue 7 - What's in a Wednesday?

In this week’s newsletter:

🧇 A Quick History of Wednesdays
Take a crash course on the best day of the week.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 A Healthy Dose of Frienvy (Friend Envy)
What these two groups do to stay close should be implemented by everyone

🧠 A Friendly Challenge
Be the one that builds a ritual into your friendship group.

🧇 What’s in a Wednesday?

Starting next week, I’m going to do a shallow dive (opposite of deep) into some of the world’s most famous Wednesdays. There’s no shortage of them, so stay tuned for that. But first, I felt it was prudent to do a bit of a history lesson on the day itself.

Affectionately known as Hump Day, due to being the midpoint of the working week, Wednesdays are steeped in history and symbolism, having particular importance in Germanic and Scandinavian traditions. In fact, the Swedes associate Wednesdays with romance, believing it to be a day for love and intimacy… which might be another reason it’s known as “hump day” - AM I RIGHT?! *High Five.*

On that theme, many cultures also believe Wednesdays to be a lucky day for weddings, but on this point I have to respectfully disagree. My belief is the optimal time of the week to tie the knot is on opposite day. SOMEBODY STOP ME. *High Five.*

But on a serious note, Wednesday has astrological connections to Mercury, the planet of communication and intellect, which obviously makes it a perfect fit for The Wednesday Waffle.

So go forth with these fun facts and have a fantastic Wednesday.

NpG

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 A Double Dose of Frienvy

Since I started delving into my friendships and discussing what has made for meaningful connections in my life, I’ve begun to take great joy in hearing about what’s been working for other groups of people.

Whether it has been via your emails, surfing social media, or reading mate-related blog posts, I’ve discovered so many fun activities that friendly factions have come up with to check in on each other, keep up to date, and stay connected.

This week, I wanted to highlight a couple that came via the comments section of The Wednesday Waffle. They’re vastly different in so many ways, but share some key similarities that I have found to be consistent with so many other powerful things people have successfully implemented in this space.

The first group to give me frienvy this week is the SASS Club. Their concept – Steak and Sunday Sippers - is pretty self-explanatory, and one I’m sure isn’t too dissimilar to something lots of other people out there do. It’s essentially a weekly catch up to see each other in person, eat some food, have a restorative libation, and chat about life.

In my twenties, I had a version of this - going to the local pub for a feed after football training on a Thursday night, but it was never as deliberate as the SASS club have implemented. None the less, I really valued those dinners with my teammates for the variety of conversation they would deliver. So much so, when I eventually stopped playing the sport, I felt the loss of this gathering more than the game itself.

For the SASS club, the part that really stands out is that it “made us all closer then (sic) before”. The value of this time together has clearly had a noticeable impact on this collective, and that makes it invaluable. Because of that, I bet they keep it up and really protect their Sunday tradition for many years to come.

The second group that triggered my frienvy was a group of teen girls. Their way of coming together to decompress each night and share a highlight from the day is a beautiful thing. 

To stop each evening and think about all the good things that happened throughout your day, big or small, and pick one to circulate among your friends, really promotes a feeling of positivity. Then, to congratulate one another on each person's achievements really spreads the love around. The concept of gratitude journals have gained momentum in mindfulness circles recently, and this feels like a nice introduction to that. I can’t help but wonder how much value a practice like this could bring to adult friendship groups too.

My dose of frienvy this week is felt in the healthiest way thanks to these two champion cohorts that have chosen to intentionally implement things in their lives to bring them together, remain close, and build stronger connections. Both of these ideas are perfect in that they’re easy to implement, take up little time, and they have a consistency about them – whether it occurs one afternoon each week, or the same time each night. There’s also a group buy in that promotes the best kind of accountability. But for me, the most important part is that they both stimulate conversation. That doesn’t just mean the positive stuff, it leaves space for the more challenging aspects each person might be facing as well.

There’s a group therapy aspect to regularly sharing parts of yourself with those you’re closest to, and often what people lack is the environment and regular opportunity to do this. By having those situations baked into their week, these groups of friends will never have to bottle things up too long.

I love getting frienvy because it means people out there are creatively coming together to make their connections stronger. I love sharing that in here in the hope more people will introduce these ideas to their own group.

If you and your friends / family do something that will give my a healthy dose of frienvy, please email - [email protected] - I’d love to share it with the world.

🧠 A Friendly Challenge

It is my belief that incorporating a ritualistic aspect to mates catch ups is invaluable, but making that happen requires someone taking the lead. So, with the power invested in me from the High Septon of The Wednesday Waffle, I challenge you to be that person.

This week, I urge you to take the lead of the SASS Club and schedule a weekly (monthly if need be) in person catch up, with those that live nearby. Or, if your pals are spread far and wide, channel the brilliant Teenage Girl Gang and start up an evening text with friends sharing a positive from your day.

The benefits have been spruiked by the two groups that inspired these ideas, so tap into their genius and enjoy the spoils for yourself.

🧵 Extra Bits and Bobs

Thanks for reading The Wednesday Waffle - it’s been a pleasure to produce.

👕 If you want to check out our snazzy Wednesday Waffle merch, you can find it here.

🤝 To support The Wednesday Waffle and support the cause of connection amongst mates share this email and sign them up here.

Until next Wednesday, keep waffling :)