The older I get, the slower I start the week. I began to notice this trend as I neared retirement, and took it as a sign that it was time to put away the briefcase. Even in retirement, as my wife heads off to work to start her week, I many times struggle to get motivated. To her it’s Monday, and to me it’s simply “Trash Day,” when all the multi-colored bins in the neighborhood sit curbside. My main household responsibility every Monday is to wash out the composting container, once The Trashman cometh. By the way, my wife will be interested in knowing that “The Iceman Cometh” to Broadway in the spring of 2018 starring Denzel Washington, as Hickey, a role played in the past by Kevin Spacey and Nathan Lane. Today, however, the Trashman cometh in a neighborhood near you.

We are not Vegetarians, but feel that probably all of us eat too much meat to properly digest. As a result, her Mondays, and consequently mine, are typically meatless. “Meatless Monday” has become a family tradition at our house, as my wife’s daughter will often stop by for dinner on her way home from work. We’ll share a bottle of wine, as they unwind from a hard day at the office, and I have a good reason to uncork one. We’ll watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! together, along with The Voice, Bachelor, or Bachelorette, depending on the season. As you might guess, it’s a pretty exciting evening and a lot to anticipate, but right up my alley in terms of a slow and easy-going start to the week.

When I was working, and not specifically focused on trash duty, I would stumble into the office, hoping there was little going on for the day. I had learned not to schedule client appointments early or late in the week, so Tuesdays through Thursdays were my most productive days. This was all part of practicing for retirement, routinely stretching the weekend into four days that eventually would become seven days.  Here I am now, enjoying those seven day weekends. I guess you might call me a Seven Day Adventist, since we’re now officially in that four-week religious period before Christmas cometh.

I was surprisingly industrious this morning waiting for the Trashman to cometh. As instructed by my wife, as part of this week’s honey-do list, I swept and mopped the tile floors in anticipating of my meatless meal tonight, and wrapped a couple of gifts while watching television. Company cometh for the Holidays, as her other daughter will travel from Washington D.C. to see us just prior to Christmas. She’ll then head home and we’ll fly to Chicago, rent a car, and “Wander Indiana,” as is the annual tradition. We’ll be home for New Year’s Eve, and a planned dinner at Aviary here in Portland. This Saturday night, we will get together with our friends here in Portland to kick-off the Holiday festivities with a dinner at WillaKenzie Estate. The Sommelier cometh! My wife’s company Holiday Party is also scheduled for that night, so we’ll have to make some compromises. As you can see, I don’t sit around the house all week long, just “Trash Day.”

With my lack of enthusiasm for the start of the week (See Post #348), I think I’m going to begin calling it “Meet-less Monday.” With the exception of my wife and other family members, I will be living in seclusion and “meeting” or interacting with no one. This means no phone calls, texts, or e-mails will be delivered or answered. It can all wait until Tuesday, when I take on the weekly responsibility of preparing dinner. “Cooking Day” does not necessarily mean that I will actually leave the house, with the exception of my daily dog duties, but I might make and take phone calls, plus initiate and receive e-mails and texts. Driving is often now often restricted to “Date Night” and “Lunch Days,” when I also might run a few errands. Otherwise, there’s no need to partake in the frustration or hassles associated with Portland traffic, or the related risks.

As the start of each week cometh, I will spend the day catching up on premium channel shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Outlander, walking the dogs while speaking to no one, and listening for the Trash man or a mail delivery. I might make myself lunch, but the “meatless part” often discourages me, and I’ll continue to perform necessary household duties like laundry, vacuuming, dusting, and mopping while listening to loud music through my earbuds, blocking out any chance for conversation. I think that today’s excessive productivity, including this lengthy post, was the result of a quiet weekend, when I had lot’s of time to myself, and the days prior when my wife was out of town on business. Perhaps, I had just too much “me time,” so I’ll look forward to the interaction with my wife when tonight’s meatless dinner cometh. In the meantime, the dogs are quiet companions, and there must be a documentary that I haven’t seen yet on T.V. Just don’t expect me to respond to any comments today that you might add to this site.