Tuesday 16 October 2012

Mondays

No, not Monday again.

I breathe out, and try to accept the unavoidable ... another Monday morning.

In years gone by, an eternally dishevelled Bob Geldof lamented, "I don't like Mondays." I was eight years old, every day seemed the same, get up, go to school, watch Grange Hill, overlook Blue Peter, eat what's on my plate, in bed by seven thirty. I didn't understand Bob's angst ridden musings on Mondays. Why was this day so rotten, so heinous?

Then I grew up.

And I got it.

On Sunday evening, after the X Factor results, after fleeing into the hopes and aspirations - most rejected, a couple accepted - on Dragons Den, it dawned on me that, yet again, I hadn't made a plan for the week. No menu plan. No order of to do's. No ideas for fun stuff with Little A. Selfishly, the only content satiating the grey matter were flashes, thoughts, clever ideas for future posts...  

Mondays and Fridays are days both dedicated to general domestic toil. But they are diametrically opposed, sat at polar ends of the homemaking spectrum. Friday comes bursting with glee, all chores silver lined, there's a lightness, a playful frivolity when I waft the duvet into its bed cover, it's very nearly the weekend, Younger Dad will be home, I can taste impending rest, I am inches away from my Saturday morning lie in. The bells of Monday, on the other hand, toll the start of, well the start of the working week, and that's it. Monday is another reminder of how aimless and disorganised I can be. Unless it's a Bank Holiday, Fridays always win.        

This Monday morning I am on auto pilot. A pile of clothes need washing. The dish washer needs emptying. Younger Dad fills in the blank holes with further errands, a tie needs dry cleaning, a CD needs posting, his personal assistant needs a birthday present, could I look around for something suitable? I'm becoming a little flustered, there are other pressing jobs too. I consult my filofax, I review the Gruffalo themed calendar hanging in the kitchen, and a cohesion of linear activity unfolds. I have a plan.

Little A and I head into Chiswick. First stop, Turnham Green. I unload the car planting Little A, her scooter and various bags on the pavement. I ask Little A to wait, not to move from her spot. But while I'm bent down tying my trainer lace, I notice the scooter has gone. I look up to see Little A escaping up the pavement, hastily heading towards the main road. "Little A, STOP, come back here NOW." She startles, turns around, sheepishly rolling back towards me. I am cross. "Little A when mummy says STOP, you stop, when mummy says WAIT, you wait. Do you understand?" "Okay mummy." "So what do you do when I say wait." "I stop mummy." I think she got the gist of my lecture. I dismantle the pointing finger.

We drop Younger Dad's tie off at the dry cleaners, it won't be ready until Saturday the assistant says, apparently spot cleaning takes a few days. On to key cutting and shoe repairs, I need a spare set of front door keys, but the shop is frustratingly out of stock on one of the keys required. It seems silly to have replicas made barring one, so annoyingly, I decide to return another day. We drop bags stuffed with old muslins, baby towels and never used swim nappies at the children's charity job. Making our way back to the car, I intermittently continue my warnings about 'wait' and 'stop', Little A oblivious to my parental overtures, stares ahead, watching the trains passing on the overhead bridge.  

On to the supermarket. But first, a birthday card for a little friend, and to deposit an envelope of earnings at the bank. At the card shop, Little A begins relieving the shelves of their cards. At the bank, she insists on sitting on the chairs furthest away from me, those closest to the automatic doors. That scenario is definitely not happening. "Little A, I want you to sit on these chairs near mummy please, and wait there." "Okay mummy, I'm going to stop for you." She's getting it...

Monday morning is the big grocery shop, I want to get it over and done with as soon as I can. Little A is determined to walk but after wandering the length of one aisle she's had enough, and I squeeze her back into the trolley, much to my relief - after reading this post - so for now, I prefer her chained and padlocked to my side. I make sure to treat myself to a pain au chocolate, and Little A, an In the Night Garden magazine; the Makka Pakka plastic toy (and sponge) had already snared two little eyes before I had the remotest chance of any diversion. Great. More tat.

Monday is the day my purse is refilled with pointless coupons. I don't find these enticements brighten my day in any shape or form. '£0.82 off your next shop'. That's debit busting. 'If you spend £70 on your next shop, you'll get 450 extra points.' I never spend over £70 at this establishment, and I'm unlikely to ever fill the trolley with extra eggs, pasta, fishcakes, a new grater for some added points that will grant me another '£1.02 off my next shop'.

Back at home, I'm tired. Worn out. Little A, owing to the morning's lack of exercise, is offensively buoyant. Monday's have increasingly become a no nap day, today is no exception. She attempts to settle but those peepers ain't shuttin. No nap. No rest bite for me. I plan on later penning the beginnings of this post while Little A enjoys her 'just before tea time' allowance of CBeebies. But then I remember, Monday is bin day... the oogie poogie bin (food waste), the kitchen bin bag, the nappy bin, and the recycling...

And while I'm disposing the bags of waste, rotting food, cardboard, glass, plastic, paper, I realise that I'm feeling short tempered, a wee teary, and it's not just today, it's been for the last few days. My irritability could spell a slide into lower mood, I'm sensitive to the change in season, and I worry, will this mean I need to increase my dose of medication?

But today I awoke to Tuesday,  and it's been a brighter, more spacious day, and I felt fine.

After writing this, I sat back wondering what the point to this post was, then it became clear... I was writing about Monday after all.

What are your Mondays like?

It's very belated, but I'm also linking this post up with the excellent Monday Club.

themondayclub

29 comments:

  1. I'm not a Monday lover either! This Monday started a bit annoying too even though it's half term here in Denmark. The kids were excited about a weeks holiday but did think all treats, fun stiff and what ever is planned for the week , had to happen Monday morning....

    http://oddparent.blogspot.dk/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Typical isn't it? I sometimes wonder if it's my age - I'm such a moany old goat! :o).

      Delete
  2. I know what you mean. The thing that freaks me out even more is how quickly they come around - I think my life is on fast forward!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Manic Mondays! Mine seem to be the chore day, the errands day, the bins day - a day that never stops!

      Delete
  3. I don't like Monday's and have also even feeling negative the sat week or so, I think it's the dark mornings and grey days :( Mondays are also a chore day.....yuk!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's certainly getting darker, the days shorter, and I am prone to feeling lower at this time of year - Mondays - chore days - just make that seem worse!

      Delete
  4. My Mondays are hard, groan ... I remember the song very clear too, and in fact sung it to my little girl the other Monday :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I used to hate Mondays, in fact the hatred often started on Sunday night. The absolute feeling of dread kicking in that a working week would soon begin. Since having my son and no longer working Mondays, I find I absolutely love them. Monday mornings are set aside for chores but afternoons for a treat.

    I have a little boy who refuses to go in his pram or a shopping trolley now. Thanksfully, Monday mornings are relatively quiet in our local supermaket.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now that's a really nice way of dealing with Mondays - chores in the morning but a treat in the afternoon! Mondays are also quiet in my supermarket - it's the bind of going up and down most of the aisles!

      Delete
  6. 'Mondays are Mondays' is a mantra of mine! have never seen them described so eloquently before though! They can be enormously satisfying sometimes though. Here's to Wednesday X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now I like that - Mondays are Mondays - very, very apt! Mmmm, sometimes they can be! Here's to Wednesday indeed! X.

      Delete
  7. The Bangles had it right when they wrote about Manic Monday. It is for me anyway. I've got a 'Sunday' notebook. I sit down early evening each Sunday and on a new page write the date then underneath all the errands for the week, and a plan the food menu. (Ignoring pleas of no more stirfry). Then I have it to refer to/ ignore all week - the amount of stuff that gets carried forward amuses me no end...blogging is so much more fun!

    Loved your trip down TGT - I think Fara kids is fab. Thank you for linking to my post x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had forgotten about the Bangles song :o). I really like the idea of your Sunday notebook - I'm going to do something similar - I've done food menus before, but they often fly out of the window. Ha ha ha - stir fries are so easy and straight forward. Ps. picked up a lot of stuff from Fara! X.

      Delete
  8. I trudge into work on Mondays and I quite like the fact that everyone in the office is in the same despondent 'yippee it's Monday morning again' type mood so,(apart from all the hassle of getting all the work and school stuff ready on a Sunday night - usually the ironing is done whilst X-factor is on - so dis-organised am I!)it's not too bad...a problem shared and all that ...! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good point - we are all in this Monday madness malarky thing together - an I dislike Mondays club - I too, iron to X-Factor, the best time for it! X.

      Delete
  9. Don't hate me, but I don't mind Mondays. I am a routine kind of girl and Mondays are predictable.

    Hope you are feeling more on a even keel soon.

    Mich x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't hate you! That's a good point you made - routine is definitely a plus! Thank you X.

      Delete
  10. Mondays are the Januarys of the week. All the fun behind you, all the slog ahead. And I loathe doing chores with toddler in tow - today I have to take boots in to cobblers, pick up parcel at PO depot, visit my mother in a nursing home (sorry mum, it is a bit of a chore...) and tackle Waitrose where Littlest will surely break another zapper thingy. And I am sitting here dreading it...the veil of gloom descends.

    I say save the henious chores for any other day but Monday. The two are a heady mix...

    Thanks for linking up x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a very good analogy - January, so true! That's a hectic day you have there - toddlers, sweet as they are, slow things down when you just want to get it all done as quickly as you can! X.

      Delete
  11. My Mondays aren't too bad. On MOndays my son attends day care for a day so I get SOME time to myself which is nice, but although I no longer work, Friday is still my favourite day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's good to know :o). It must be really nice to have the day for yourself - I think Fridays will always be a favourite day!

      Delete
  12. Yes, Fridays are the best. Mondays the pits. Sunday evenings always used to get me down... because Mondays were what came next. Now today, Wednesday, is humpday (by lunch time you are over the hump and half way to Friday).

    Happy Humpday!

    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wednesday is humpday - loved that! Today is Thursday, but tomorrow is Friday - fabulouso - Fridays, are indeed the best day - two weekend days ahead! X

      Delete
  13. I don't mind Mondays either, or Tuesdays, Wednesdays, well you get the drift! My favourite day of the weekday has to be Friday as I don't work on Fridays and then its the weekend & even though I don't get a lie-in these days, it still feels different. I never know what my day is going to be like until I turn on my computer - somedays I wish I hadn't fired it up! Little A sounds just like TC:))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well I'm glad to hear that Mondays are good for you - they have to be good for someone. I don't think they are that bad, but like you I much prefer Fridays - maybe even more then the weekend! :o). (I think Little A and TC are of a similar age aren't they?)

      Delete
  14. Enjoyed reading about your Monday - its interesting to get a little window into someone else's world. I can't go to bed on Sunday without a plan for Monday and beyond. I don't mind Mondays as long as I'm prepared. I like having a list to tackle - maybe I'm werid?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sunday I started making it a priority to make a plan for the coming week, and its helped no end. I think that's the key to surviving Mondays - having a plan. No not weird at all - I can follow in your foot steps!.

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...