Monday post - Twenty Minutes Before Monday ends

My Mondays are long and I LOVE it that way.

I generally take the weekend off but I ALWAYS take Sundays off.

There was a time when that was really difficult for me. When things get quiet, my brain is busy, and it wants to be able to explore and play, create, build, document, MOVE NEEDLES FORWARD.

But Sunday is the day that I observe the Sabbath in my faith and so it's very different than any other day of the week.

When my brain wants to be busy on Sundays, I put it towards studying gospel related topics, doing genealogy, pondering, journaling or writing spiritual thoughts to share with others.

And I LOVE Sunday naps and snuggles.

But by the time Monday morning comes around... I'm like a slingshot that's been pulled back all weekend and tension is built up and ready to be released!

Some days, like today, I take a few hours in the middle of the day to spend with my girls if they've been with their dad for the weekend. Today we went shopping for seeds and supplies for this year's garden and then finished with our daily ritual of driving while listening to music and talking about life.

Then I got back to work while my youngest, who's now 14 going on 32, got to work on planting seeds.

I worked on a few projects with a few stretch breaks while she worked on the garden, the got to work on a sewing project. She's working on two different dresses and she quite the seamstress. Tomorrow she'll be making homemade Chicken Alfredo from scratch.

We cross paths frequently, she and I, and her sister (my third for four daughters, who's almost 18 and preparing to launch out of the nest) occassionally intersects for meals or trips to the park or late night sister drives with music and something yummy.

There is so much freedom in their daily lives that they have no comprehension of because it's always been like this.

I've always been home (well, since my oldest was one year old) and crafts and projects and independence with family interaction has always been what home life was like.

Mondays are long and busy, Sundays are slow and quiet, Fridays are fun and foody and all the in between days are somewhere in between.

And I love it.

I love it a little less with two of my babies grown and gone... as it is WAY too quiet and the impact of the ending of an era is poignant and came FAR sooner than I had anticipated...

But I love this life as a mom who gets to be home with her girls but also gets to have a significant impact in the lives of my clients and their families at the same time.

It has fascinated me how parallel the roles are and how frequently they intersect.

What I learn in leading teams and optimizing businesses has translated into how I lead my children and run my home, in a good way.

I grew up in a time when parents felt entitled to say whatever they wanted to to their children as though children were property and not sovereign spirits and beings unto themselves.

In fact a lot of employers also treated their people like that.

But as I studied both parenting and business and leadership I was able to learn how to lead respectfully, far faster than I would have any other way (and if you ask my girls and some of the people I used to work with, I did NOT learn that fast enough!)

I love Mondays (yes, I know there's no clear thread to this post, it's a midnight reflection and I'm downloading my thoughts which are rarely linear) because of the contrast of Mondays to Sundays and every other day of the week.

I love starting it out feeling rested and excited to activate all the ideas that percolated and distilled while didn't allow myself to act on them on Sunday.

I love serving and connecting with people and projects I steward.

I like to be wiped at the end of my Mondays.

I enjoy the feeling on Tuesday when I wake up and everything is in order because I made sure to check in on everything and every one and move the needle forward and feed traction and momentum professionally and personally.

Mondays set the tone for the rest of the week.

I don't really ever have bad days. Bad chunks of hours... you bet. Days in a row? Also, bet.

But every day I can tell you what moved forward.

Every day I can tell you how I made the day count.

And every day I can tell you what was good about that day. what *I* did well that day, and what I am thankful for.

That is something not everyone knows how to do... but it IS something that everyone CAN do.

Even on days when you are laid up sick and exhausted. RESTING and HEALING is PRODUCTIVE, and not everyone will do it when they need to.

Perspective and values make all the difference for in our happiness and mental wellbeing.

How we view what's in front of us, how we approach what's in front of us, and how we reflect on it will largely dictate the quality of life we have.

Everything starts with your thoughts.

“As a man thinks in his heart so is he,” ( Prov. 23:7)

"Show me your treasure, and I'll show you where your heart is" Matthew 6:21

Where your heart is will determine if it's glad or if it's sad.

If your work and your heart can find alignment, you are much more likely to find joy in each day, even if the day stretches out long and spills into the next.

Good work that is full of purpose, allows you to serve others and makes you a better person will make you a happy person... even in the sad seasons of your life.

Now, 40 minutes after having begun this post, I finish, having woven the last segment of this day's tapestry and content with my work in every aspect of life, personally and professionally, before I put this day to rest.

This is how I like my Mondays to be.

How about you? Are Mondays different for you? What does the flow of your week look like? What season are you in right now and how does it affect your work, and how does your work affect it?

I'd love to know.

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