Is your family spending Sunday evenings dreading Monday mornings? Mermaid Debbie tells how she solved this in her own life and home.
I know it is common in our society to dread Monday morning. Monday mornings are synonymous with bad days. People wake up tired, grouchy and are often late. “Bad hair days” are more common on Monday mornings. I have experienced all of these things many times, myself.
I realized a few years ago that starting the process of lamenting the fact that the weekend was “almost” over really took away from the joy of what was still left of the weekend! If we are not living in the moment, where are we? I was in the, “Oh, yuck! It is almost Monday again, back to the grind, I miss the weekend, etc…” place. It was depressing.
I have found that I really prefer the feeling of being happy and looking forward to Monday, rather than dreading it. I make an attitude adjustment. I now view Mondays as a fresh start. Because I work at home I have flexibility in how I schedule my week. I will not make any doctor, dental, hair, etc… appointments on that day. I now savor the thought of Monday. It is my day to unwind after a busy weekend, organize the week ahead, and clean my house. After the kids are off to school, and I have done my workout, I light a delicious smelling candle and turn on some music. I keep my sweats on, and get to what I call…”nesting”. Somehow, vacuuming and laundry feel cozy instead of dreaded chores. I also organize my work space, check emails, look at my calendar, and get a good sense of what the rest of my week is going to look like.
A friend of mine who works in an office takes a similar aproach. She treats herself to a special coffee on the way to work, schedules meetings Tuesday through Friday, and uses Monday to organize her week ahead. She says she looks forward to Mondays since taking charge of this day.
An attitude adjustment and something to look forward to are both essential keys to mastering finding joy in an otherwise drab day.
As I was discovering this new way of viewing the “dreaded Monday morning”, I realized that my children were struggling with the same feelings. My young daughter was expressing sadness and dread about going to school the next day. I remember feeling frustrated with her because our Sunday afternoon and evening were being spent in a state of depression, with me trying to talk her out of her feelings, instead of giving her keys to solving them.
My son was begging to stay up late, trying to keep that “it’s the weekend” feeling. He was grouchy, tired and almost impossible to wake up.
So, one such Monday morning I woke them each up with “Surprise, it’s Monday!!!!” That didn’t go over real well. After they left for school I had one of those “light bulb” moments that Oprah talks about. I ran to the store and got them each a little treat, I baked a batch of cookies, and wrote them a little mommy loves them note. When they came home from school I tried it again. “Surprise, it’s Monday!!!”
It worked! Every school-day-Monday is a Surprise Monday. It is usually something very small: a pack of gum, their favorite snack, or a special privilege. Sometimes I surprise them and invite a friend over, or pick them up at school and take them out for a milkshake. Because I have had a good day I am able to give my family a clean, organized, loving house to come home to. The ideas are endless. We have decided to change the way we feel about Mondays. My kids love Mondays now, and so do I!
“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change". Dr. Wayne Dyer
