Wednesday is Grilled Cheese Night in the potatowire house. My wife and I started doing this years ago, and every week I load up two sandwiches with loads of pepper jack cheese, grill them to perfection, and serve with a generous helping of baked french fries. It is a wonderful meal, trust me, but it’s the tradition I really value.

My wife and I both eat healthy during the workweek, so this meal is a deliberate departure from our usual fare. That’s important, because a treat means more when it’s a reward for good discipline. This helps me eat well beforehand, because I have something to look forward to, and afterwards, because I have a happy belly. Plus, by dinnertime on hump day, Friday is closer than Monday.

I love my job most of the time, like it occasionally, and hate it every once in a while. I always love my weekends. I get time with the whole family, and everything is more relaxed, including our eating. It may sound like a small thing, but Grilled Cheese Night helps me face each Monday and make it to the next weekend.

I think these sorts of periodic checkpoints enable long term success. Without this weekly respite, I suspect my mood, diet, and work ethic would all eventually suffer. You don’t have to make your meal a grilled cheese (although you’d be crazy not to), but try giving yourself a get-well point in the middle of your week.

I think you’ll like it.