Living For the Weekend? Not Anymore!

21 Replies

The strangest thing has happened to us as we have adjusted more and more to the Encore Voyage.  Just this week a friend posted yet another, “It’s Hump Day!” photo on my Facebook timeline.  I skimmed right past.  I remember how we could hardly wait until Friday night got here.  For most of our working lives, TGIF was a big deal!

But now, NOT SO MUCH!

Most people can hardly wait for the weekend to arrive because

a) They need a couple of extra days to catch up on a mountain of chores and tasks, and

b) They are exhausted from their Monday through Friday stress ridden working careers, and just need time to recuperate.

I have decided that one of the best things about this Encore Voyage, whether it be retirement, or just working for ourselves is that

THE WEEKEND NO LONGER MATTERS TO US

Yep, that’s right.  All of those jobs that we used to cram into Saturday afternoon have been done, a little here, a little there, throughout the week.  I can go to the grocery store on a Thursday morning.  I can hardly collect a full load of laundry these days.  I do it when it’s convenient.  The house pretty much stays clean with daily attention.  I can write on a Saturday morning, or at midnight on a Tuesday.

And we’re not constantly exhausted.  One of the most prominent things I tell people when they ask me how I’m liking retirement is that

“You don’t realize how exhausted you were until you’re not anymore!”

And since we’re no longer bone tired, we don’t feel the need to “catch up on the weekend.”

What we do notice about the weekend?

  • Everyone ELSE is out running their errands – so we don’t want to.
  • Everyone ELSE is going out on the town – we now prefer to go out during the week.
  • We no longer experience the “Sunday night blues.” – You know those, right?

And here’s the biggie –

  • We forget what day of the week it is! 

Every single day opens up to us with opportunity.

So here’s to a wonderful Monday. At least, I think that’s what today is…

Lynn

Cover photo: Eric Rothermel ~ Unsplash

21 thoughts on “Living For the Weekend? Not Anymore!”

  1. Michele

    It is so true that you don’t really realize how exhausted you are until you stop being so exhausted. Now, when I have busy days or weeks I notice the exhaustion. I HATE it. It always reminds me not to over commit.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
  3. Dan Antion

    I may have started following your blog about three years too soon 😦

    It’s still Monday, and, at least my boss still cares.

    Great post – I look forward to not caring.

    Like

    Reply ↓
  4. patwdoyle11

    I went shopping yesterday by mistake, forgetting it was Sunday afternoon. (My mom is visiting and we needed some things she normally eats that we don’t have in the house.). Ugh – The crowded store made me realize how I have come to enjoy weekday mid-morning shopping. I however find sometimes I have nothing to do on the weekends now, since all errands and excursions are fit in during the week. But still do love those less crowded activities?

    Like

    Reply ↓
  5. Barb@livingrichlyinretirement

    I so love never having to shop on the weekends. I still have friends who work so I occasionally end of doing the dinner thing or dinner and a move thing-although I prefer the matinee. But never having to hit a store on the weekend….I’ll never complain. And let’s not forget off season, non prime time travel, as well.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. Encore Voyage Post author

      Thanks Barb, I’ve followed you for a long time, and I’m honored that you stopped by here! I agree with you about off season travel! Hubs and I took a trip AFTER the Christmas holidays, and BEFORE all the craziness of spring break – because we could!!! And now I’m off to work on a quilt project – on a Tuesday morning! Gotta love it!

      Like

      Reply ↓
  6. our next life

    I’m already SO exhausted, so if we don’t really know how exhausted we are, we must be off the charts! You’re living our dream right now, and we can’t wait to join you — our tourist town is always PACKED on the weekends, which is when we have to go join the throngs of people at the store or on the ski slopes, but SOON we’ll be able to do all that stuff on the weekdays. Can’t wait!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. Encore Voyage Post author

      Oh I hear you sister. I will get up early Friday morning to attend a group we call College, Careers & Coffee. Like minded folks who share similar goals – my choice to attend. I can rest some other time! This fuels my passion!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
  8. Kate Crimmins

    So true! The opposite happens these days. We welcome Mondays because it gets all those people back into their jobs and opens up the stores and other places for us to visit leisurely. Fridays no longer have the same allure but it’s also the last day to get anything done on a timely basis before the hordes are released.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
  10. dconnollyislandgmailcom

    Another great post, Lynn! Since retiring, my husband and I have totally different views on weekends. I LOVE that everyday is now Saturday, while Richard laments the lost of defined weekends. As a comprise, we now try to save some activities, like hiking, food markets, etc. for the weekend (like the old days) but do Costco and Ikea shopping, etc. during the week.
    Donna
    http://www.retirementreflections.com

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

Comment on the Voyage!

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s