What Monday Means To Me Now

As I sit here this Monday morning thinking about the week ahead I realize it's natural to feel stressed.  There's so much that I have to tackle for work this week, so much to get done to get back on track with coaching, and other fun things to go to here and there throughout the week.  As I've gotten older and have started enjoying more and more of what I do, Mondays have been less of a dreaded feeling for me.  But every now and then that feeling of "Monday, again?" creeps in.  Recently though, my Monday perspective has shifted.  

Now, when I look at a Monday I feel okay.  Good, you could even say.  Happy? Well, sure! Why? Well, not to sound too mushy but each new day we have is a true blessing, each new week is a gift.  Before I would hear others say and think "yes, that's nice" but now I think to myself how thankful I am to wake up this morning.  The stresses that each week holds really aren't that bad at all.  In fact, what if we looked at the things we stress about as things to be thankful for? 

- "Ugh, so much to do at work" ------> "I'm thankful I have a job!"
- "We have company coming this weekend and the house is a disaster!" ----->  "Thank goodness for the people coming to visit us, and for the roof over my head."
-  "I don't have time to workout" -----> "My body is a gift, and I will try my best to take care of it."
.... I could go on, and on.

Today marks the start of week six that we carry on with our lives without Dad.  He passed away on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  The one thing that keeps popping up in my mind is, what he wouldn't have given to just have one more Monday, one more work week, one more shot at getting to BS with his co-workers, have coffee with his wife before hitting the road, to pet the cats outside, and to visit with all the people he ran into throughout the week... just one more week of going through the motions.

So, today I ask you to do one thing....actually no, make that two.  
1) Be thankful.  Look at your Monday as a gift rather than a burden.  We don't all get a Monday again.  
2) Don't just go through the motions.  Appreciate the day, be friendly to others, tell someone something nice, notice the beauty that is THIS Monday!