Wednesday, October 27, 2010Saturdays...Saturday has always been my favorite day of the week. Still is. But I've enjoyed recent weekdays off, sleeping late (if 6:00 AM qualifies as late) then writing for hours on end instead of the minutes I allot before work. Doing laundry at leisure, ignoring dust just as I do on every other day.I do things on these days off that I haven't done for years. I bake more, cook more, make things from scratch just to see if I can. Or should. I let my hair air-dry, don’t wear makeup, and don’t get dressed until I can no longer avoid going out into the world. I iron pillowcases and handkerchiefs. I sit and read when I should be doing other things, then do other things…oh, when I get to them. Or if. There wasn't time when I was younger and fuller of energy and much, much thinner and Saturday was always the best day. Buying groceries—or anything else, if you actually make the commitment to going shopping when it’s not even Christmastime—is a breeze on a weekday. Aisles are less crowded and more stocked. Admittedly, there aren’t as many friends and acquaintances to stop and talk to and make plans to have lunch with “someday,” but there are compensations for that; you can be in and out of the supermarket and on the have-a-nice-day side of the drive-through at Dairy Queen in a heartbeat. You say you didn’t know about being rewarded for grocery shopping? Why else would drive-throughs be open when it’s not mealtime? One of the nicest things about weekday-offness (yes, I know that’s not really a word, but it should be) is that people seem to have more time. They are not looking at their watches to see when the next appointment is and wondering if they can possibly fit in one more thing before they have to be there. You can get to places while they’re truly open, instead of dashing in at 5:01 and saying, “Oh, are you closing?” Duh. No, they were locking the door because they didn’t have anything better to do. You can actually return phone calls during “regular business hours”—you know, the hours you’re normally working and can’t call people? (This is assuming you are important enough to get to talk to real people when you make phone calls. Unless I’m calling my immediate family, I don’t usually rate that high, and I think some of the family’s getting iffy.) There is a quietness to Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday that is lacking on Saturday. Oops, I have to back up on that one. Tuesday is, in many establishments, Senior Citizen Discount Day. If this occurs at the time of month when many seniors get their retirement checks, you’re a whole lot better off staying home. Anyone who thinks younger people are the only ones without manners has obviously not been run over by a senior citizen on a mission. Although I realize many retired persons need walkers or scooters, I’m convinced some of them just take them along as weapons. The difference is they almost always apologize after they flatten you on the sidewalk. So, let me start that thought again. Wednesdays and Thursdays are quiet. They’re good days to tie up a table too long at lunch, to linger in fabric shops or bookstores, to meander through crisp autumn leaves and reflect on how blessed you are. Sometimes, I don't mind being older and heavier and not quite so energetic. And I love laundry and the smell of clothes as the iron slips over them. And the sounds of leaves and the birds chattering their way through them. Sometimes any day's a Saturday. I hope you have many of them. Till next time. Labels: Saturdays posted by Liz Flaherty # 3:44 AM Comments: Post a Comment Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom] Archives:July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 April 2008 June 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 July 2009 November 2009 January 2010 March 2010 April 2010 July 2010 October 2010 November 2010 December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 April 2012 May 2012 April 2017 Subscribe to Posts [Atom] |
