The Old Coot learns how to
start the week.
By Merlin Lessler
There are two ways to
approach Monday, the start of the work week for most people. It’s kind of like
a New Year, with an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, to change. One way to
greet Monday is with a groan – Ugh! It’s Monday, five more long days until the
weekend. You slosh through the first few hours in a fog, maybe a little
depressed. The Monday Blues! I’ve been retired for some time now, but I still
remember that feeling, “I’ve just got to get through the week and then I can be
happy again.”
The other way to greet the
day is to treat it like a woman does when she comes into the Owego Kitchen
before going to work. I’m there, sitting at the old coot table with Lester,
Rick, Eric, Matt, Mike, sometimes the other Mike and sometimes one or two of the
other Ricks. In she comes before heading to work at the bank, I shouldn’t mention
her name (It’s Jules). She banters, back and forth with us. She’s upbeat and
laughs so hard that people up and down Lake Street must ask, “What was that?”
It starts on Monday with
her yelling, “It’s HAPPY MONDAY! Ha Ha Ha.” She renamed the days of the work week,
starting with Happy Monday. Tuesday is “Second Monday.” Wednesday is “Hump
Day,” like most workers think of it. Thursday is “Friday Eve,” and Friday is
just plain old Friday, but if you hear her say it, with that beautiful laugh,
you’ll know it’s a different kind of Friday.
She has the same
temptation to face Monday as the start of a long journey to the weekend. Blah! Ugh!
Boo! But instead, she laughs her way into Monday, A great way to approach the
work week. I wish I’d learned that when I set the alarm on Sunday night for
Miserable Monday. But, it’s never to late to learn, even for an old coot. Here’s
hoping all your Mondays are Happy Mondays.
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