By Bonnie Brown

Allow me to share some reflections of my week with y’all.  Sunday is a day of rest, usually very quiet and relaxing.  Love the serenity of Sunday.  

Monday is garbage day for us.  The Lafayette County Solid Waste crew always does a wonderful job.  They are so reliable and professional.  And they endure the summer heat, the winter cold, the rainy days, and every variation of weather.  I feverishly collect every scrap of trash up until just before they run in our neighborhood.  Good beginning to the week.  I’m much like Garfield in that I hate Mondays but love lasagna.  So on Mondays I’m usually off to a slower start.  And we all know that we experience Sunday night sleep insomnia, even when we don’t have to roll out and go to work Monday morning.  It may have something to do with that long nap on Sunday afternoon that affects our Sunday night’s sleep.  

On Tuesday, it was necessary to run a couple of errands.  I have a love-hate relationship with Walmart.  I love that I can purchase groceries, cosmetics, household supplies, and other essentials under one roof.  However, the local store has fallen short lately in that it looks like a tornado rolled through leaving behind lots of boxes in the aisles and debris.  Fortunately, I encountered friendly shoppers who nodded a “Good morning” greeting which made it more pleasant.  Tuesdays are good days to have lunch with a friend.  

Wednesdays are special. They are “hump days” otherwise known as getting over the middle of the work week and coasting to the weekend.  But when you’re retired, does hump day really apply to you?  Yes, it does!  It is the time to recover from the many activities of kick-starting the new week and allows a little time to plot the rest of the week, taking care of business.  

When I worked full-time, I always felt that I peaked on Thursday.  I was in my stride.  You know the feeling you have that you are productive and at your best.  You can bring projects to a conclusion.  Plus, there’s the optimism you feel that the weekend will bring the opportunity for fun activities and family.

Fridays are sheet changing day.  I love the feel of fresh sheets and a clean house.  And believe it or not, Fridays are my least favorite day of the week.  Why, you ask?  Well, it seems to me that most people are taking shortcuts to get to the weekend which means they often postpone or evade doing their work in anticipation of a relaxing weekend.  They are so distracted.  They are out in droves in the land of commerce to prepare for their fun-filled weekend, making for traffic jams which become inconvenient.  And if it happens to rain on Friday, it makes for testy, irritable drivers who take chances and become rude.  I try to stay in and not get out and about on Fridays.  

Saturdays are usually good days with time to get in some household chores or other things that require larger chunks of your time.  Like watching a football game—or in the case of our house, multiple football games, usually accompanied by some tasty junk food.  A nice departure from the rest of the week.  Saturday used to be a day filled with lots of yard work.  Tom and I had his and her riding mowers and cut grass for several hours.  But thankfully, we downsized and no longer have a large yard to mow.  I actually sometimes miss that.  You could readily see the progress of your work and enjoy being out in the sunshine and nature.  I asked Tom if perhaps I could get on out at the golf course to cut grass since they obviously have a lot to mow.  He said “No!”  He also recognizes that I would get tired of that real quick.  And he’s right about that.  But there’s something so wonderful about the smell of freshly cut grass.  So, I hope your week is a good one and that your Sunday nap doesn’t interfere too much with a good night’s sleep.  

Bonnie Brown writes a weekly column for The Oxford Eagle. Contact her at bbrown@olemiss.edu.