Monday Musings: A New Beginning

Mondays have sort of a bad reputation. The Monday Blues.  A case of the Mondays.  A certain orange cartoon cat grumbling "Mondays" from under his blanket.  People seem to dread Monday.  Maybe it's the tradition of having to return to the workweek after a few days off.  Perhaps it's having to adjust the natural rhythms and schedules of our bodies to meet the demands of work and/or school life.  Or it could just be that society tells us that Mondays are bad.  

But, I kind of like Mondays.  It's like a fresh start every single week.  Like a mini little New Year's Day.  A new beginning! 

I like to take time on Sunday to set my goals for the coming week and get things off to a good start with a shiny new To-Do list ready and waiting for me on Monday mornings. 

To help kick things off on a positive note, I am going to start sharing a few thoughts each Monday.  A review of the past week.  My goals for the week.  And hopefully, a little motivation to get us through the week ahead.  Let's go!

I started a new online Bible study last week based on Philippians. It was amazing!  The group that met for the Tuesday morning Zoom discussion was lively and thought-provoking and just SO GOOD.  I'm already looking forward to what the meeting tomorrow morning might bring. 

Here in North Carolina, the panic buying of gasoline in response to the Colonial Pipeline shutdown had most stations out of fuel by mid-week.  Fortunately, we had enough gas in our cars to get us through the crisis. Unfortunately, the Man of the House and I had reservations to go to Charleston for the weekend - but we had to put those plans on hold since we weren't sure if we would be able to find gasoline for the drive home. 

On Friday morning, I was making a cup of coffee when I glanced out the sliding glass door and something trotting up the road caught my eye.  My first thought was "That's a big cat".  Then - "No, that's not a cat.  A dog?"  Which is also about the time that I realized I was looking at a fox.  Prancing up the road with what might have been a rabbit or squirrel in its mouth.  Now, we get all kinds of wildlife in our neighborhood.  Deer, turkeys, groundhogs, bunnies, opossums, raccoons, and hawks are common visitors.  There's even the occasional bear sighting. And I have heard coyotes howling at night over on the mountain ridge. But this is the first time I have ever spotted a fox!

The excitement didn't end there.  Around lunchtime, someone was pounding at our front door.  Not knocking - pounding.  The Man of the House answered the door to find a young girl - maybe 14 years old - sobbing on our front porch.  She had no shoes on and she was so distraught that it was difficult to understand most of what she was saying, but after she told us that the voices in her head were telling her to kill her mother and that she wasn't supposed to tell us her name and she didn't know where her house was - I quickly ducked inside to call 911 while the Man of the House tried to get her to talk to him and to calm down a little.  That's when she took off running, through our yard, the neighbor's yard, and down the road.  He hopped in his car and went to follow her at a distance, just to keep an eye on her and make sure she was safe until the Sherriff's deputy arrived where she was currently down the road and began talking with her.  After that - well, I guess we'll never know what happened to her.  I can only pray that she was able to get the help she needed.  

The day ended on a more positive note when the Mand and I went out for dinner.  That was our first restaurant dinner in over a year that wasn't delivered or take out.  It was nice to sit and be served while we just relaxed and talked and enjoyed our meal.

Saturday, we went out to run some errands. And I got my first haircut since last July! It really feels as if life is starting to get back to something that resembles "normal" (meaning: pre-pandemic)

My goals for this week are short and simple, meant to be steps that will help me get closer to completing my goals for May:

• Clear off the sewing table in my home office
• Finish organizing yarn
• Catch up on laundry
• Begin teaching dogs the "Down" command

What are your feelings about Mondays?  Do you have any goals for this week? Share in the comments!