I was never fond of Mondays. I never liked them.
A melancholy feeling would start washing over me even from Sunday afternoon.
They say that with enough time one can get used to anything, but somehow I never got used to Mondays. What I learned though is how to get the better of every single Monday, how to always see the positive in the potential for a new start, for a new week together with the hope for something beautiful to begin.Over the years, I have realised that everything is a mind game and the most important thing is how you react to something you consider negative by default.
I also realised that mum’s advice is by far the biggest dowry, the most important consignment, the pattern that has infiltrated your mind and your soul and subconsciously as you grow older you do all those things you learned from her.
Ways to brighten Monday Mornings.
-Wake up earlier and give yourself the time to get ready without pressure. The last few years I have discovered the joy in waking up a bit earlier and offering this time to myself. I have came to the conclusion that I need approximately 90 minutes to get ready before leaving home.
– Prepare coffee. Before I go to bed I put the water and the beans in the coffee machine, so in the morning I only press one button. I have a filter coffee machine that is some hundred years old (sic!) but it makes the best filter coffee of all time and whenever I have tried to replace it, I came back to its services regretful for having tried… (Mom’s habit No1)
-Air the house out (mom’s habit No2). As soon as I press the button of the coffee machine, I open all the windows and I go back to bed for 10 more minutes. It’s impressive how much I imitate, I repeat and I copy all the patterns with which I grew up. My mommy had one obsession: to air out the house. Before leaving for school and jobs she would close the shutters while leaving all the windows open.
As soon as she enters a place she knows how often the people air it out. She has a whole theory that she embellishes with her own scientific facts:
“A house that is not aired out is not a clean house.” “People get sick more often in such houses” “You can warm up a house easier, if it’s been aired out”, “You sleep better, if you air out the blankets”, “Once upon a time windows would let air in but now that everything is airtight, the majority of houses smells more”
And that’s how she would wake me up. By opening all the shutters and the windows. With a kind of a magical way I am repeating her ritual. It’s unbelievable how all the stimulus, the experiences, the way you grew up shape you in such a way that there comes a moment when you repeat exactly what you have been exposed to.
-Switch on the radio, put on some music! (Do not turn on the TV. The majority of the TV morning programs (apart from some bright exceptions) will offer you nothing other than nonsenses and information that you surely don’t need.
-Take a shower (mom’s habit No3). I can’t wake up and I can’t leave the house if I don’t shower in the morning. It invigorates me, it wakes me up and it makes me feel so good. (Time required: 15mins)
-Prepare yourself a healthy breakfast (mom’s habit No4). My all-time favourite is yoghurt with fruits and honey, or bread with honey… (Honey is my super food). I never skip it as I can’t function if I don’t have breakfast. The last 3 months I boil water, I add some lemons and I drink hot water with lemons (another one of mom’s habits that I grew to appreciate as I was growing up!) (Time required: 15mins)
-Tidy up the house (top habit of mommy No5). I don’t need more than 15 minutes to make my bed, to wash the breakfast dishes in order to leave the house in the same state that I would like to find it at night when I return. Besides as mom used to say “The way a house looks, is the way the soul is) (Time required: 15-20’)
-Get ready and become the best version of yourself. There is nothing nicer than having the time to apply your creams, your make up, to fix your hair, to wear the clothes that make you feel good without stress and without you complaining again: “I’m late again”… Other people should have the impression that you want them to have about you. (Time required: 15mins)
– I cherish my coffee at my favorite spot in the house while surfing my favorite websites and social medias, a quick tour of the world, just to see what’s happening out there. (Mom’s habit No6: The only difference is that in those days mommy wasn’t surfing the web but instead she was reading newspapers; she would read them from cover to cover, every single article.. )
(Time required: 15’)
My favourite corner of the house. The friends, the readings, the foods, the dreams, the thoughts and of course all the mornings in these cushions.
-Do 15-20 mins of stretching, running, and dumbbells… This is the last habit that I try to incorporate into my daily routine. Even though running was never my high point, I firmly admit that its energy will fill your entire body.
-Prepare your lunchbox and your bag, Spray one scent on each wrist, check out your self in the mirror and flash a smile for you and just think of all the many great reasons you have to smile, and all the blessings that you take for granted… You are ready to conquer the world.
-On my way to work I always call mommy to tell her a “good morning” (because if I don’t, I know she will call first!). She will always give me at least one piece of advice and I always tell her: “You’ve already gave me this one mommy”
To just hear her reply: “I give you 100 pieces of advice in order for you to follow at least one”… (Don’t worry mum, I follow all of them)
In what ever concerns you now, go out and shine.
Think of the “good” as much as possible.
Have a great week
Ε
