My Friend Monday

No, you didn’t wake up in some time warp, and no, I’m not an idiot. It is indeed not Monday. I was, however, inspired to write this on a Monday – though I did not begin to write it until yesterday. I suppose I could have waited to post this until next Monday but then I would have had to come up with something to fill its place and well, I didn’t want to. Deal.

Monday – that dreaded day that marks the end of a fabulous weekend and the beginning of another mundane week of grueling work. It’s the most hated day of the week. Unjustly scorned by so many. The Mamas & the Papas harmonize about the day’s un-trustworthiness; the Bangles’ “Manic Monday” had them longing for Sunday. Even Duran Duran sang about a “New Moon on Monday” – was it a good thing or bad, that song? Who knows. It was the early 80s and I never really understood a thing Simon Le Bon said anyway. I was to busy staring into his beautiful eyes to care about the words coming out of his mouth.

Monday gets a bad rap. I feel a pang of sympathy for it every time I hear grumblings of Monday bashing. Can you imagine going through life knowing you were the most dreaded and vilified day of the entire week? Surely Monday feels some sort of resentment for it all, especially towards his nemesis Friday. Look at him there at the end of week getting all of the attention. Everyone loves Friday, toasting him with Facebook statuses proclaiming TGIF. Happy hour is filled with rounds of discounted buckets of beer bought in his honor. Friday can do no wrong. Sort of reminds me of high school. You know, Monday is that nerdy kid nobody talked to, eating all alone in the cafeteria; Friday is the big, handsome jock that all the girls moon over. Hm. I am suddenly reminded of why I don’t go to my high school reunions. High school sucked.

I love Mondays. It’s the start of a brand new week and how you approach it will set the tone for the other four days. It’s all about attitude. You can either go into Monday feeling glum and angry, tired and snarky, setting yourself up for a miserable existence with nothing to look forward to but Friday; or you can choose a different path – a more positive path and enjoy every precious moment of the Monday that will lead you into Tuesday and then into Wednesday, and so forth.

I see Monday as a sort of do over, if you will. A chance to get this week right, finish up those left over annoyances that fell through the cracks last week, and just work at being productive. Indeed, it’s usually my most productive day. Sure, there will be hiccups along the way. Life can’t always be sunshine and roses. By Wednesday, I may feel like going postal on the next person that cuts me off on my way into the office; or even my poor, saintly husband may fall victim to my sharp tongue and expert stink eye. Sometimes he even deserves it because he likes to push my buttons. This week he successfully pushed them all by Tuesday. Maybe a record for him. But, I can honestly say that I began this week with a openmind and a smile on my face.

Does that make me strange? A sort of sadist? Maybe. But the way I see it, I win when I stand up for my friend Monday. Remember him sitting there in the cafeteria all alone while Friday yucked it up with all the popular kids. Well, Monday is now a hugely successful entrepreneur and philanthropist spreading his goodness around the world, while Friday is bald, sporting a beer belly and living in misery with his ex-high school cheerleader wife who is virtually unrecognizable after having her fifth child. She harps at him day in and day out leaving Friday wishing for Monday so that he can get the hell out of the house and go to work.

Think about that next Monday when you roll over to hit the snooze for a second or third time, all the while mumbling hatefulness in the general direction of my pal, Monday. It’s not his fault. It’s all in what you make of it. You are, after all, the master of your own destiny. Make a new destiny for yourself – a destiny that includes a bright smile and a friendly hello to your new friend Monday.