Monday, Monday

I arrived at work this morning with "Monday, Monday" by the Mamas and the Papas firmly entrenched in my brain.  As far as I know, I didn't hear it playing anywhere this morning, it was just that someone made some sort of "monday, monday!" reference in conversation, and that was all it took.  This is the hazard of being raised by a father who loved 1970's folk music.  I know quite a bit more music from my father's era than my own!

My plans for a quiet bus ride to work, listening to one of Anne Lamott's novels in audiobook form (as an aside, I'm loving this one, "Imperfect Birds"), were interrupted as soon as I boarded and spotted a gentleman who I knew was a new employee at the firm I'm temping for last week and this week.  As it turns out, today was his first day, and he'd never taken that particular bus route before.  If I'm honest, the last thing I really wanted to do on a Monday morning transit commute was spend it making small talk with a stranger, but I'm learning to be sensitive to situations and to God's promptings, and more so, to be willing to sacrifice my own insistence on "ME" for the sake of others.  So, we chatted for a while.  He's new to Calgary, so I told him a few little things about the city.  We talked about transit, and previous jobs a.  It wasn't so bad after all.

And, even as I think about that, I'm thinking about the fact that sitting at a reception desk on a Monday morning, I might be the first, or only smiling and welcoming face that someone sees today.  I don't always see it this way, but today that feels like a gift.  Like a chance to exist in my own skin, and love Jesus, and let his love for and joy in others exist in my smile, and in my conversations with people, and in the way I say hello to each person who crosses through my lobby.  And I can see each smile and greeting offered to me as a gift.

Like I said, I don't always feel that way.  I didn't feel that way even a couple of hours ago, when I woke too early from a very disturbing dream.  The introvert in me would rather not be the one to deal with people all day, the one who has to paste on a smile and be welcoming when what I really want is to just hide away.  But somehow, my day has shifted, and I'm choosing joy and peace.  I'm processing the dream, but choosing to not let it ruin my day.

It's nice to be in that space, to be able to choose that.  A gift really!

And hey, it's Monday!  Monday means I'll pick up take-out on my way home and head home to catch The Bachelorette live from the east coast online, enjoying a couple of hours of entertainment.  It means an evening of quietly enjoying myself, and doing things I love.  It's a little bit of sabbath for me.  And, as for that audio book, there's always the bus trip home.  I'll probably read the book book that I brought with me on my breaks today, sitting in the sun.  So, it's Monday, Monday, and that's okay with me.