Monday used to be the worst day of the week. Before kids I would drag myself to work and curse the day, repeating for all to hear that Monday should be banned and the week should start on Tuesday. (Yes, yes I know, then Tuesday would be the new Monday. Tiny little detail.) I hated Monday.

Now I have a new appreciation for Monday. It is, for the time being, my day (mostly) off. When I had Emma, Monday was the only day of the week I was in the office so it was Emma’s regular day care day. When I lost my job a few weeks before having Will, we decided to pull her out of day care completely, but after his arrival we quickly realized that she needed the routine of going as much as we needed a little break, so we kept her in.

As the fog of having a new baby has lifted, and our life has found a new rhythm, I have begun to cherish Monday. I drop Mike at the Metro, take Emma to day care, and then the day is mine! I can do anything I want! I can be lazy or I can be super efficient and there is no cajoling, compromising or disciplining required. Of course Will is along for the ride, but so far he hasn’t complained.

Last Monday I made a return to Home Depot and then spent a good half an hour just wandering the store, looking at all the fun tools and cooing at Will who smiled up at me the whole time. After Home Depot we made our weekly trip to Trader Joe’s.

I love Trader Joe’s. Most Mondays includes a stop there to do our grocery shopping for the week, sans the two year old. Will and I take our time. We stop at the samples table and try out whatever free food they are trying to get us to buy. Then we buy it. We get one of their mini cups of free coffee and peruse the aisles, looking for some new hidden item to bring home and try out. We chat with the folks working there and coo over other babies and finally, with a cart full of food we check out.

The rest of the day is usually free form and goes far too quickly. We get home and unload the groceries, at which point Will usually needs to eat. After that I fit in whatever I can around Will’s naps. Sometimes I waste the day on the computer, getting caught up on email and facebook and blogging. Other days I am Super Housewife, getting more cleaning done in one day than I thought possible.

I used to stress out if I didn’t get everything on my to-do list completed before it was time to go pick up Emma. Now I realize that Monday is mine, and I need to use it to recharge my battery, in whatever way works. I love it when I am productive, because it means less has to get done later in the week. But the days when I am lazy are great too, and give me the energy to focus on the monumental task of wrangling a 2 year old, caring for an infant and maintaining a household.

At the end of the day I can’t wait to see my little girl again even while I am slightly sad that my Monday has come to an end. But I know I get another one next week, and in the meantime I have just the slightest bit of extra energy to tackle the next six days.