Sunday is the new Monday

I know I have harped on this particular subject, but if there is one thing that olim have a hard time getting used to, it is the lack of Sundays here. You are expected to just leap directly from Shabbat into the work/school week. Ah, if only that were true. Because no matter what you do, we all want to pretend that Motzaei Shabbat is a fun, relaxing evening. We want to make the weekend last just a little longer, and darn the consequences. So we let the kids stay up a little longer, let them watch just a few minutes more of a movie. Sometimes we will head out on a "date." And sometimes, like this week, David will go play basketball in the shul league, despite the fact that he is no longer Teimani. (More on that later.) So here are a few reasons that I no longer hate Mondays, because now the object of my resentment is Yom Rishon, which begins at havdala and ends late Sunday afternoon.

Things I hate about no Sundays*:

1. Making sure that all of the homework is done and signed and that the backpacks are packed.

2. Cleaning up from Shabbat, all the while knowing that the cleaners are coming the next day.

3. Cleaning up for the cleaners, knowing that they are going to be here SOON!

4. Knowing that a desperately needed Shabbat nap will cause great suffering on Sunday morning, thanks to the need to get a normal night's sleep on Saturday night. Allow me to remind you of the unfortunate equation: Afternoon nap = not tired Saturday night = going to sleep too late = waking up tired and grouchy Sunday morning = bad start to the week = bad week. And all from taking one little, much-needed, well-deserved nap.

5. Knowing that Sunday is almost always necessarily a laundry day, and I hate laundry more than I hate Sundays. What an unfortunate confluence of events.

6. The kids' heads are not entirely in school mode on Sunday morning. This results in grouchy waking, forgotten lunches, or today's special, Dani waking up and suddenly realizing that he had mishmeret Zahav (crossing guard) duty. This means (a) he needs to leave the house 20 minutes earlier than normal and (b) Ariella needs to be walked to school. None of this is problematic with proper preparation, but becomes sticky when discovered at 7:10 in the morning.

7. Sunday is unbelievably busy, what with swimming, math, tutoring, carpools, art... and the week is just beginning!

*Now technically, yes, I know we do have a Sunday. But I prefer to think of it as Yom Rishon, or sunday without a capital "S", because it is not the day that is enjoyed in the old country, with a shortened school day if there is one at all (can't say short when I live in a place where 2:30 is considered an extended day in elementary school!), a chance to stay in pajamas for a while, and a general sense of relaxation. There is rarely a general sense of relaxation here, which makes sense, considering where we are and who our neighbors are. Which is not to say that people are not relaxed here, because we are. It's just that on an existential level, we never back down from a state of heightened vigilance. But on the day to day, apart from checking the headlines far more often than most chutznikim I know, we live like regular folk, just cooler.

So on that note, I wish you all a wonderful week. This is the closing week of Chodesh Irgun, so I expect to see even less of my middle children than I did last week, for better or worse. There will be much paint, much dancing, possibly some mud, and little sleep. Should be interesting.

Shavua tov,
Dvora