Why hello there Monday, welcome back

Yes, I say this at the risk of irking a whole lot of people who hate Mondays. Let me explain a little bit, however, why I love Mondays so much.

To be honest, for a long time the only time I appreciated Mondays in the past was whenever it would be declared a holiday. However, this trimester, I managed to fit in all my classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Therefore, I have Mondays all to myself, or at least the whole morning and afternoon part when I have to be at the clinic I work for on some Mondays. As such, I have dubbed Mondays as “ME” days…this is the day I get to do all things I  WANT to do and not HAVE to do, whether this be on my own or with very good friends. I know I could have easily picked Fridays for it, but we all know how Fridays can get all traffic and congested, right? Oh, and for those who may retort that that’s what the weekends are for, many times I have clinical work on Saturdays, so that kinda thwarts the whole weekend thing.

So there…that’s why every Monday I wake up with a sense of eagerness and excitement, because I know I will get to do things that nurture my heart and soul.

Just last Monday, I got to do something I had never done before: I took myself to lunch, not in a coffee shop as I would customarily have done, but to an actual restaurant where I had to ask for a table for one. Sure it was a little strange at first, but it worked out well, and I was able to really get a chance to appreciate and acknowledge myself for my progress in my life’s journey…from the smooth and easy roads I have traversed to all the little road bumps and even the large potholes that I have encountered along the way. During lunch I remembered how much I used to enjoy just being by myself at a neighborhood coffee shop, just me, my laptop and my coffee. It was always an escape from the busyness of the day.

After lunch, I watched Eat Pray Love with my friend Jane, which was quite serendipitous because we actually had no plans set for a movie. You see, I am the type to only go and do things like this after carefully planning it. But last Monday, I decided to just be random and spontaneous. Little did I know that earlier in the day, she had also thought of doing the same thing (asking if I wanted to see the movie with her, that is). So we went.

Before I ended the day, I decided to challenge myself a wee bit more.

Greenhills has never really been one of my favorite places because it brings back a lot of sad and bitter memories of he-who-broke-my-heart-into-a-million-itty-bitty-pieces. So as much as possible, I avoid going that way. So after the movie, I decided to cross the street to the area of Theater Mall where there is a little Starbucks where he and I used to go. I walked around a bit and was glad that despite having that overwhelming feeling of missing “us” (it really wasn’t him I was missing much, but me and him together…if that makes any sense:-)), I didn’t have the painful tugging at my heart that often rendered me breathless. That was a good thing, right? I remember that for a long time in the past, I really went out of my way to avoid the green siren, which is why I discovered CBTL. In  fact, I even wrote a this  as a contest entry for one of their promotions:

Jul 28, ’08

Coffee, Tea and Me

Not too long ago, I discovered a new haven: a safe place free from bitter memories served up with cookie-spattered-blended coffee in a place I once loved. A place that was soon muddied with painful memories of someone I fell for so deeply, it hurt to walk in and see the familiar sights of when we dated.

Walking through the glass-etched doors of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf was a welcome refuge from the noise and bustle of the outside world, an escape from the sadness filling my heart. With the endearing smell of fresh coffee roasting, the quiet hum of blenders mixing, and the gentle rhythm of music wafting in the air, CBTL soon became a sanctuary I could run to when angry, bitter and painful memories would abound.  Inside that haven, sipping heaven from a cup with purple straws, the loneliness of love lost became a distant memory.

Perhaps adding to the charm and novelty of CBTL is the fact that it’s not everywhere…thus, every trip was always something special; a delightful treat to life’s unpleasantries. Many a tear and a laugh did I share with friends, reminiscing over cups of warm Chai Tea Latte’s and turtle pies. Days were also spent in silence, with just myself sipping an Ice Blended Black Forest, tapping away in front of my laptop relishing the time I had with myself.

My mom asked me once how I could sit for hours on end in a coffee shop alone, doing nothing. I answered with a quiet smile: I was never alone. With a cup of coffee or a bit of tea, I was with me. Just the way I liked it to be.

So that’s why I love my Happy Day Mondays….it gives me the chance to be with ME and to honor my soul and make her happy by letting her be,be this by herself or with kindred spirits.  In whatever way, shape or form, she is given her space to exist and permission to breathe before setting off to a weeks worth of work.  And for the past Monday, I was able to let her lay to rest an old ghost that haunted her for so long.