Tomorrow is Monday

Make it a good one.

Tomorrow is Monday. How will you be spending yours? I’m in France, in the city of Toulouse. We arrived at our red, Moulin Rougey hotel room a few minutes ago, just as the sun is setting on another chilly French afternoon. Tomorrow, Martha and I will explore the city. We’ll eat good food and maybe get some patisseries. We’ll walk and hold hands and talk about all sorts of things, big and small, that matter to us and our family. Maybe we’ll bicker. We often bicker. Maybe we won’t. We often don’t.

Mondays are good days to take stock of the upcoming week. It’s an “off to the races” day, and while my own race day looks to be leisurely, I know there are others for whom this Monday will produce anxiety about the week – and maybe longer – ahead. So be it. There’s a reason Bob Geldof wrote a song about the terrible things that can happen on Mondays. Some people like them and some people don’t. Tomorrow, I suspect, many of you will not.

(By the way, the song “I Don’t Like Mondays” was written about a school shooting from 1979. Back then, school shootings were the sort of thing that attracted attention.)

How to enjoy your Monday? I suggest a walk or a book or watching a movie you meant to see but have not. Something light, perhaps. Something silly. Mondays get a bad rap in terms of silliness, but I don’t see why they shouldn’t be as fun as every other day of the week, especially in light of the fact that The Bangles once rhymed “Sunday” with “fun day,” but you can do the same with “Monday.” These are the only two days of the week for which this is possible and I don’t think you should take that lightly.

What’s that expression about the night being darkest before the dawn? Anyway, here’s the moon in waning gibbous.

Maybe you can throw on a Spotify classical playlist while you cook a big Monday roast for loved ones. A spatchcocked chicken, perhaps, or a leg of lamb. Maybe a risotto? I will enclose a good recipe for butternut squash risotto. Also, it doesn’t have to be classical. Maybe some jazz? Or something ambient. Stay away from NPR because they break for news at the top of the hour and we all deserve a day away from the news every now and again. Tomorrow might be a good day to abstain.

Mondays are named for the moon. This is because the ancients believed there were seven planets, of which the moon was one. Seven days of the week, seven planets. Makes for good symmetry.

Tomorrow’s moon will be in the waning gibbous phase, the stage when its illumination decreases from the full moon, until it reaches about 50%. It’s a time of dying light. That phase will peak when the moon disappears altogether in about ten days. Will it return? Probably. Because all things happen in cycles. They wax, they wane. They ebb, they flow. Mondays come every seven days. There will be a Monday tomorrow and there will be a Monday every week for the next four years. And even beyond that.

We usually think of weekends as our days of restoration but there’s no reason that we can’t also promote self-care on any other day of the week. Bubble baths are particularly good on Mondays. So is a walk with a friend, or a dog. Maybe your friend is your dog. I’m not judging, just making suggestions.

This Monday may be a bad day for some people because every day is a bad day for some people. You may wish to help those in need, and you will have many opportunities to be helpful in the Mondays ahead. Tomorrow, though, check in with your people. You know, a lil’ Monday check-in on the people you love because sometimes we forget to let our loved ones know we’re thinking of them. Tomorrow might be a good day to let them know.

It's also Martin Luther King Jr. Day tomorrow. I have been a lifelong admirer of the man because he chose to meet violence with love. Violence need not be physical. One can attack with words just as readily as fists. One can attack with declarations, orders, and memorandum. One can be violent in attitude. One can be violent in thought. King explored the possibilities of love as an oppositional force to violence. Love need not be – and should not be – passive. Love is most powerful when it is active and directed. Love is patient and kind, sure, but it can also be fucking urgent and powerful. Tomorrow might be a good day to take a page from King’s book and choose that kind of love.

Bring that love to bear on those you meet tomorrow. Wish them well. We all need the good thoughts of others, especially at the start of the week when we do not yet what lies ahead.

Enjoy your Monday, everyone.

Here’s that recipe for butternut squash risotto, taken from loveandlemons.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 2 cups cubed butternut squash, ¼-inch cubes

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon minced rosemary or sage

• 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice

• ½ cup dry white wine

• 4 cups warmed vegetable broth

• Chopped parsley or small sage leaves, optional, for garnish

• ½ cup grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese, optional, for serving

Instructions

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, salt and several grinds of pepper, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butternut squash and cook for 6 to 8 minutes.

• Add the garlic, rosemary, and the rice. Stir and let cook for about 1 minute then add the wine. Stir and cook for 1 to 3 minutes, or until the wine cooks down.

• Add the broth, ¾ cup at a time, and stir continuously to allow each addition of broth to be absorbed before adding the next. Cook until the butternut squash is tender, and the risotto is soft and creamy. Season to taste.

• Garnish with parsley or sage leaves and serve with grated cheese, if desired.