The lifestyle of the middle-class, of what most societies consider 'normal', is notorious for its predictability. Growing up, you ride your bike to a friends house, play a little baseball and rush home before dusk for dinner (picture a life right out of The Sandlot and then compare it to your childhood- not really a coincidence).
You pick up a couple babysitting shifts as you get older, maybe a couple lawns to mow and a yard full of leaves to rake. Then you graduate highschool, going on to college or maybe straight into the workforce. Those four years after moving out of your parents' house are unique to each and every person, but that unpredictability is predictable; if you know what I mean.
Fast forward and now you're working nine to five and trying to balance rent and electricity and whatever loan you picked up at 19. Eventually, you get the hang of it, and move forward, getting married, having a few kids. Then its a white picket fence and a minivan. Before you know it, soccer practice and dance recitals take over your days, blurring Monday into Tuesday and dawn into dusk.
Friday morning rolls around each week, and it seems as though every office building breathes a simultaneous sigh of relief. The long awaited weekend has finally made its appearance. Baseball games, cookouts, and maybe a little boating are so close you can taste it. You're living the dream right? THIS is what you wanted and worked so hard for!
Wrong.
That's not to say that this isn't a luxury or something to be ungrateful for. This life is a good one, full of happiness and stability and lots of laughs. It's the "American Dream", and anyone who lives it is a lucky one.
But why does the weekend have to mark the dictated time to actually enjoy? Why is every weekday marked off like it's some sort of bargain for Saturday, another block in the road preventing us from reaching the last 5 o'clock of the work week? Why are SO many days wasted when every minute of every hour can be turned into the better with just a little perspective?
I understand the obligation of work and school, and that most cars are a taxi service from school to practice to a pool party then back home again. I get that desk jobs and construction, alike, are so tiring that dinner and bed are the only things on the agenda most evenings…
But living for the weekend isn't really living at all.
Monday night can easily be a movie night after dinner and work. We watch TV for hours before bed anyways- why not make it a family event?
Happy Hour with the girls can be done on a Thursday afternoon just as well as a Friday night, although I do suggest limiting tequila shots after 7 p.m. with work the next morning.
Want to try out the new cantina place down the street? Use your lunch hour (you'll save money on the smaller portions, too).
Look at the weekdays with that same lens for adventure as you do a Saturday without any plans. Budget your money for a little excitement everyday, not just a 600 dollar frenzy Friday night. Invite your friends on Tuesday morning coffee runs AND Sunday brunch. Find a passion and make it a job, or learn to love your work. Don't waste the time you were given.
Not everything has to be so predictable. You don't have to wait for Friday to put a smile on your face nor assume that every day before that is just another part of the routine. Life shouldn't be lived in just two days a week when you have seven.
