For no reason that I can think of, I decided yesterday was the start of the week. Yes, a Monday. So I confined my post to eight sentences as per the rules of the challenge and titled it ‘Microblog Mondays: Differences’. Just before clicking ‘publish’ (and yet again for no reason) I checked the day on the computer. It said Saturday.

Saturday?!!!!!!  WTH!

How the heck had I managed to skip two days? Why had I decided it was Monday? I racked my brain, but could come up with no valid reason except for the fact that the days of the week don’t mean much to me these days. They all look/sound/feel the same.

There was a time long back when the children were in school and later in college when the days of the week were important. All through the five working days of the week there was the ‘getting ready for school/college’ part which meant I was aware it was a week day. Besides, the children had to wear white one day of the week. Keeping that uniform ready meant it was pretty clear which day of the week it was. Then I had to brace myself for the onslaught on the weekends when the children (and sometimes the L&M too) were home. So the weekends were pretty well defined too, especially so since it involved cooking special meals.

Once the kids were grown up and out of my hair, there still was the L&M to remind me of the days of the week. The days he was home constituted the weekend and when he left for office after those two days, the week began, it was Monday again. But, life by then had slowed down considerably. A slight change in routine, like a midweek holiday for the L&M meant that my system of calculation went for a six. ‘Eh?’ I’d ask him, all puzzled and scratching my head in confusion. ‘Why aren’t you getting ready for office?’ or sometimes “Eh? Where are you going so early in the morning?’ Inevitably my queries were met with much eye-rolling on the part of the Lord and Master who thought (thinks) I am a pretty good candidate for Alzheimer’s.

The real problem started when the L&M retired. I was nonplussed. What would I base my calculations of the day of the week from now on? I looked to the house-help for help (in more ways than one!). She took Sundays off. Yay. That meant the day after had to be a Monday. Easy-peasy. I sighed in relief. But something happened few months down the line when she had to be replaced. Along came a new help and according to her contract, she takes two days off in a month at random as per her need/convenience. So she could be working on a Sunday, and be off on any week day.

My whole system of calculation has hence collapsed in a heap around me. Children who have grown up and flown the nest, husband who has retired and is at home always and a house-help who takes off on leave on random days. This is the limit! How the hell am I supposed to know which day of the week it is? Nope, I don’t watch television and so can’t use the shows as markers of days of the week like many do.

All I have now to depend on is Microblog Mondays and Foto Fridays to keep me on course. And yet (to my horror), I have twice posted Foto Friday pictures on Thursdays and hastily deleted the posts when the matter came to light. But that is mild compared to what (almost) happened yesterday. I had been ahead by two full days (Gosh!) and could stop myself only in the nick of time from committing a gaffe. So if you traipse into my nest one fine day and find a Foto Friday post on Monday and/or a Microblog Monday post on a Friday (that’s a worst case scenario, I am hoping), don’t be too surprised. 😉

©Shail Mohan 2017