Rainy Days and Mondays

The Carpenters were genius. How could anyone have captured the feeling so perfectly in a song?

It’s the first Monday of the school summer holidays. Yes, you’ve been home schooling for 17 weeks but today is different. There are no school Zoom lessons, or expectations to submit MyMaths or practise spellings. Maybe you’ve taken a UK break and are sitting in a caravan on the North Norfolk coast. You are probably desperate for swimming pools (general splash session) or soft play areas to be open. It’s still not really acceptable to go for a browsing shopping trip. You have to know what you want, don your mask, rush in, discover that what you want is all sold out because everyone has decided to do the thing you thought would be entertaining. The world is a very serious place to be and small children don’t understand. I see you. Although, that is not my reality I can feel the sadness in the air. How dare it be a Monday and a rainy day?

“What I’ve got they used to call the blues. Nothing really wrong. Feel like I don’t belong. Walking around. Some kind of lonely clown. Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.”

Rainy days don’t stop me walking around but today I will feel like some kind of lonely clown. No one else will be out and it will feel like the beginning of lockdown, before people discovered the daily exercise. The park won’t be heaving with picnickers, the sea wall will be empty of parents saying, “Ooh look! Bird!”. The woods will lack snogging teenagers. Shh. It’s Ok teenagers, your secret is safe with me. Yes, I do know your mum but I’ll never say anything.

“Talking to myself and feeling old. Nothing seems to fit. Sometimes I’d like to quit. Hanging around. Nothing to do but frown. Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.”

And here I am, thinking about how difficult it would be to have small children to entertain today, talking to myself and feeling old. After 17 weeks of cake or Joe Wicks nothing will fit and you can’t try anything on in the shops. So, let’s all just give into it. Make it national frown day. Run and find the one who loves you and frown together.

Even the tomatoes have what they used to call the blues