The Meaning of Weekends

Without the routine of a job, I become disoriented and lose track of time.

For instance, today I over slept and couldn't remember what day it was. I had opened the garage door to take out the trash as I do every Friday. I was surprised to discover that there weren't any other trashcans sitting at the curbs in front of my neighbors' houses.

Then I heard the sounds of a power saw and hammering coming from my next-door neighbor's backyard. When I went over to investigate, I found my neighbor's husband and another man building a wooden play set while she was planting annuals in a large pot and keeping an eye on their two young children.

After I said hello and engaged in some small talk, I asked her, "What day is today?" At first, she thought I meant the date and said she wasn't sure. Then I asked, "No, what day of the week is it?" She told me it was Saturday, and seeing the confused look on my face, reassured me that as a stay-at-home mom she sometimes got the days confused too.

I thanked her and wandered back home where I tried to decide what meaning the weekend had for me now that I wasn't working.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"They don't seem to see the difference between working and not working. It's all become part of one's life. There's no concept of weekends anymore!" - Earl Culver, president of VariCorp, from the movie "True Stories"