Tips: Keeping your sanity on a Monday morning

As a stay-at-home mum, I find Monday mornings the craziest (compared to the rest of the week).  For me, Mondays always start off with a ‘bang’, from the moment I awake.  It is as if an explosion rips through my head from the moment I open my eyes, scrambling my thoughts off in multiple directions at one go, leaving my body confused as to its intended motions.  I drag my reluctant body off to the bathroom, thinking that this wasn’t the way it was just yesterday morning. “Did the boys have some homework to do that we didn’t complete?  Did I even check their school bags last Friday?  Did we have a playdate arranged for today?  When was that gas bill due? Ohh..no..my pantry is as empty as Mother Hubard’s cupboard - I’ve got to get to the supermarket early to avoid all the other mums and their full trolleys! “The ramblings in my head appear to go on, and on, and on.  Slowly, the effects of my hyperactive mind starts manifesting itself as a vague physical discomfort in the belly region.   “Was it because of the lazy afternoon nap I had yesterday after a full lunch that’s giving me a tummy-ache ?  Or was it that extra bit of chocolate liquor that I enjoyed last night while watching the Sunday movie on TV?”  I snap out of it when I hear my husband, appearing as moody as I am, mumbling about how all his work shirts are not ironed and that I should get this task done TODAY.  This is just before he complains about how much work he has to get done at the office this day, and that he should be leaving earlier than usual - hinting (no doubt) that I should get busy preparing and packing his lunch on the double! (Thank goodness for the Nando’s chicken left over from last night’s dinner). …..All this ruckus even before the kids are up!

I think it is true - Monday Blues is no fable.  It’s real and we all go through it in some form or other.  Whether you are a working mum or a SAHM,.. the blues play ignorant. Is it a mum thing? Don’t think so.  We’ve had our share of the blues during  our ‘young, wild and free days’.  Is it a woman thing? Nope.  We have experienced our male spouses and partners suffering the effects of ‘the blue’ in many form.  Is it a human thing? Hmm.. Could be. (Answering that question requires further scientific experimenting, which we will not pursue at this stage.)

Well, after thinking about it a bit (this is after the kids were off to school and hubby to work), I have come up with some suggestions as to how us mums may be able to beat this malady and miraculously turn a bluesy Monday to a bright sunshiny one. 

We don’t necessarily think about the ‘next day’ on any other day of the week, but make it a point, maybe first thing on Sunday mornings (as you have a lazy cup of coffee), to just focus about Monday a little.  You could:

1.  Look into your children’s school bag.  Take out their lunch boxes and wash them.  Identify any homework that needs to be done.  Read any take-home notices that the teachers have stuck into their bags.  And if you have to, … clean their bags.

2.  Take out the school uniforms that the kids will use on Monday.  If the uniforms are all still buried deep in the laundry basket,.well, then  do the laundry.  Straight-away.  Remember to look for socks too.  (Too much time is wasted every Monday morning with kids and mums running around the house looking for fresh socks, and sometimes undies!).

3.  Think about what you will need to pack for lunch for the kids and hubby.  Do you have all the necessary ingredients?  Is there fresh fruit? What about cheese and bread and tuna or smoked ham? If you are missing key items, then write a list of things you will need to buy today (Sunday). 

4.  Have a peek into hubby’s wardrobe (or your ironing basket), and ask yourself if there is something for him to wear for work on the next day.  If there is, good for you.  But, if there isn’t, just convince yourself that any ironing done is to the benefit of your own sanity (no matter how crazy the thought of ironing on a Sunday is!).

5.  Have a quick look at the unpaid bills - quick enough to notice if something has to be paid by TOMORROW.  If there is, pull it out and pay it straightaway if you can (that is, if you use the Internet or telephone for this sort of thing). Otherwise, just put it on a visible spot, ready for your action on the next day.

6.  Finally, write everything that you will need to do tomorrow (the Monday) in a TO DO list format.  Don’t worry about how petty some of the list items are, as long as you have them written down, you don’t have to think about them.  And if you don’t have to think about them,…guess how good it is going to feel when you wake up on the Monday morning, calm as the ocean depth. 

Article Author:  Sumitra Rudra