Weekends

Funny thing about weekends is that there is so much anticipation before they arrive, they go by so quickly, and then we spend so much time reliving them. It’s almost like most of our workweeks revolve around weekends! Mondays and Tuesdays are spent wishing it were still the weekend, while Thursdays and Fridays are spent planning the upcoming weekend. At that rate, Wednesdays are the only days we actually get any work done!

Okay – maybe that’s an exaggeration. But you know what I mean.

I just had a great weekend. Highlights include: browsing for books at Borders and my hubby treating me to 6 good books (I love finding good books in the bargain section); catching a movie Friday night; discovering Mitsui, a great hole-in-the-wall Japanese noodle shop (bento box with broiled eel, sushi, pickled green beans & beets, and cold soba noodles with a sweet tamari-based sauce topped with prawn tempura & grated radish, plus miso soup for just $10.99 per person!); a lazy Saturday afternoon spent reading in bed (two thumbs up for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time); Saturday night dinner at P.F. Chang with the whole family; playing cards and having drinks with my in-laws till 2 am; sleeping in Sunday morning; and an impromptu backyard volleyball game to round out the day.

What’s not to love?

Every Monday morning, don’t we all find ourselves saying, we wish it were still the weekend? I was guilty of wishing that at least thrice this morning. The first time was when the alarm went off at 6:30 am, the second time was when we encountered traffic on the 110 freeway, and the third time was halfway through our 9:00 am staff meeting. But then I had to think about it. Did I really want 7-day weekends all the time?

I remember after grad school I had a 6-week break before starting my job. It was great at first. Shopping, fixing up my new apartment, hanging out with friends, having family over, reading all these books I had put off due to school, sleeping in, watching TV, cooking good meals … But around the second week I was starting to get bored. By the third week, everything I enjoyed doing seemed trivial and just a way to pass the time. And by the fourth week, I was itching to get back into the working world and was counting the days before I had to start my job! (That feeling seems so strange and distant now).

My parents can often be credited for their wise words and keen perception. This case is no different. They always tell me that we sometimes experience low points in life so we can appreciate the high points. It’s the whole “bad things make us appreciate good things” theory. I guess it’s true, how can you really know what it means to be happy, if you’ve never really been sad before.

So my rationale here is the worse our workweek is, the better and happier the weekend will be. One must precede the other. It’s the way things are. Without stressful, deadline-ridden, hectic, and nerve wracking workweeks, we would not have fun, relaxing, peaceful and enjoyable weekends.

So, in that light, thank you to the rush hour traffic on the 405 and the 110 for my over 2-hour daily commute. Thank you to my overbearing clients who demand so much more than their programs are worth. Thank you to the huge stack of papers in my IN box and to my never ending to-do lists. Thank you to the hundreds of junk emails I have to sort through to get to my mail. Thank you to the deadlines I have to meet and the sales calls I have to attend. Thank you to the endless list of phone messages I need to return. Thank you to all the early mornings I have to wake up to and to all the late nights I spend trying to finish all that I need to do in a day. Thank you to all of my middle-of-the-week errands and for all the dinners I have to prepare. Thank you, thank you, thank you to my harassing and ever busy workweek for without you I would not have fabulous weekends that I can truly enjoy guilt free!