A Monday Do-Over

When my children were very young, one of the high points of preschool and kindergarten was “backwards day.” This, before most others, was one that they awaited with great enthusiasm. They went to school in their pajamas, toting their favorite stuffed animals and their special blankets. Their teachers went to great lengths to run the schedule backward, starting with the song,

“Nursery school is over, we will say so long, goodbye, goodbye, we hope to see you soon.”

Breakfast foods were served for lunch. I was relieved that their all-important after-lunch nap remained at a fixed timed. As a mother, no matter the fun, I did not want exhausted, off-schedule children arriving home at day’s end. The valuable reminder I learned from those days is that what we do with time is an arbitrary construct we assign to meet our needs. It was with this in mind that I took the liberty of using today as a Monday. I was disappointed in what I accomplished yesterday, Martin Luther King Day. This morning I had lined up a number of appointments for the day, but the weather made my driveway uninviting to all but the most intrepid. Canceled appointments left a windfall in time that made me decide to use today as a Monday. I grabbed it and didn’t look back. What did I do with my duplicate Monday? I got a leg up on organizing my tax information. I cleaned out my office of all extra papers and magazines and unnecessary items. I caught up on outstanding correspondence and a few phone calls. I tried a new recipe for dinner and I made chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I also managed to clear the walk of snow and walk my dog. All of this good do-bee activity has left me with a warm glow. I feel that my Do-Over Monday was a resounding success. I look forward to finding another one in the next few months!