For many years, Tuesday was a bad day. It was the day I relinquished custody of my oldest daughter. In the simple act of day care and school drop off, I set sail to a ship that often seemed like it would never return to port.  I felt like the widow standing at the end of the pier watching the smudged horizon for signs of movement.

Each Tuesday I dropped off that girl, hugged her desperately as I inhaled her shampoo-ketchup-sweaty goodness, felt the fabric of her sweater, studied the color and wave of her hair, and burned it into memory.

Until Saturday, when I’d see her again.

One of the biggest reasons I left my nice-paying but family-compromising job was I missed this girl. I missed so much of her life while I sat behind that computer 40-50 hours a week. I did things like read bedtime stories to her over the phone as editors drummed their fingernails on the desktop. I used vacation days to go on her field trips and volunteer in the classroom. I cobbled together a life with her based on the calendar, schedules, and the divorce decree.

Once I came home, the schedule flipped and I had more time. Even then it wasn’t enough. So much was lost already. Now, I had two girls in the house. What I lost in parenthood, they gained in sisterhood.

Their sisterhood has helped in the last six years.

Today that girl turned 18. Decrees and restrictions end. She can come and go as she pleases. Of course she’s been doing that for a year since she got her own car.

Tuesdays have grown softer with age.

A newish friend likes Tuesdays. At some point she added me to her Happy Tuesday club.

The first text message arrived just like that:

Happy Tuesday

I didn’t know what to think or how to respond. Tuesday? Happy? Only slightly better than Monday, really.

Here are some of my responses:

Dancing in my p.j.s

🙂

Happy Tuesday to you!

Fat Tuesday!

Happy Ides of March Day 

Happy reunion 

The sun is shining 

I am in the wilds of Montana

Hot Tuesday

Quakey Tuesday

It’s my baby’s birthday!

Happy snowy day

Hang on to your hat Tuesday

Getting things done Tuesday

Happy love note Tuesday

Happy stuff your face with dough and jelly day 

Over the last year, this simple message has turned around my feelings on the second day of the week.

Classify this under “the little things in life.” One friend. One simple message.

Is there anything you might be doing that seems small but may have a huge impact on someone else’s life?

You never know.