Three-Day Holiday Weekend

Memorial Day weekend starts tomorrow, although my mental outlook makes me feel like it has already begun. It is like these work days right before the holiday are imbued with the same lightness--both of spirit and of significance--as the school days before summer vacation. The thrill of the three-day weekend lingers from those past school days, when Memorial Day was the harbinger of the end of the school year and the start of the summer barbecuing season.

Every year I hope for an invitation to a barbecue, to reveal in that long-standing tradition, but it has been years since I've celebrated Memorial Day that way. Instead, I think of all the things I can do--the movies I've been meaning to see, the books I want to read, the to-do list items that seem so do-able in the vastness of a three-day weekend. Before I realize it, I have plans for at least four 3-day weekends, and thus I'm always disappointed by how much I do get done. All that time disappears faster than seems possible.

And then, of course, comes the even greater disappointment when the next weekend returns to being a measly two days.

This year, I'm trying to be more realistic about my goals for the weekend. Of course, the pristine block of time already has time carved out of it. Last minute plans with a friend tomorrow night. SIFF's Secret Festival on Sunday. A long time friend moving in to my building that day (can I make the mess of my apartment I was planning on and still invite him for a drink?).

Hopefully Monday night will have me feeling rested, productive, and with a sense I had an enjoyable weekend. Maybe I'll even figure out what we are Memorializing. Happy Memorial Day!