Mariposa Kisses (aka Dianne's Blog)

Mondays start out slowly because you have soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much to do and you're already behind. Just thinking about your to-do lists makes you feel exhausted. Then, after one sip of coffee, the week goes into warp speed and all of a sudden it's Friday. And then it's Sunday night and then Monday again. It kind of feels like being in the movie Groundhog Day minus the irritating rodent part.

For parents, the week involves taking care of the kids, which involves so many tasks, from meal-prep, to laundry, to homework, to chauffeuring them around to a plethora of daily activities. It also includes some super sweet stuff, like snuggling before bed with a favorite bedtime story or reminiscing over a shirt that no longer fits your little Hulk anymore. Occasionally, you also get to watch your kids play peacefully together while sharing toys. During those moments, you feel like you're doing something right.

For many parents, their day involves arduous work responsibilities as well. Meetings, task-lists, and emails take up the majority of many days. Some people work twelve hour days and return home to a house full of chores. Maybe you're a teacher, a fireman, a manager, a doctor, or a nurse. How can you balance it all?

The answer: one Monday at a time. Since life can start to feel like you're a hamster sprinting on a wheel that doesn't go anywhere, it's important to celebrate Mondays. While Mondays are usually people's least favorite day, they don't have to be. Instead of loathing the first work-day of the week, you need to incorporate certain fun elements just for Mondays. This way, your new favorite day will set an optimistic tone for the entire week.

Here's the new agenda for Monday, the new best day of the week. Your first decision is to pick your favorite shirt or suit to wear, the one that makes you feel alive. The first stop is a java run where you order your favorite coffee drink, not the economical one or the "skinny" one. Splurge a little simply because it's Monday. Next, you make lunch-plans with a co-worker or a friend every Monday. You block out the time on your calendar so people know you're unavailable for lunch meetings on MONDAYS. After work, you take your kids somewhere fun, like the park, the ice cream parlor, or even to the movies. Before bed, you spoil yourself a bit. Bubble-bath anyone? Favorite novel or movie? More ice cream?

Let your Mondays stand apart as Fun-days. This might sound impractical or nonsensical, but if you start your week out in a motivated fashion, it's going to spin the rest of the week accordingly. It's like working out, if you make it to the gym the first few days of the week, it affects the way you eat more healthily and it increases your enthusiasm for the entire week. Why? Because you feel excited about your fitness plan. Similarly, if you feel pumped about Mondays, you will also feel more upbeat about subsequent Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Notice I didn't mention Fridays because I know that's already most people's favorite day of the week.

Loving Mondays will replace your apathy about the repetitive and laborious nature of the rest of the week. You don't have to feel like that pathetic hamster running on his wheel ad nauseum. Start getting more out of Mondays and you'll start getting more out of life!

Any fun Monday ideas? What helps you to start the week out right? Share your ideas here.

Labels: kids, Mondays, parents, repetition