Inoticed a mom with two small children in the grocery store the other day, and because I’ve been spending this summer constantly remembering those days when all my children were tiny, I was, of course, immediately thrown into memories of yesteryear. The things that trigger the memories are so strange — I see moms with small children in the grocery store all the time, but for whatever reason this particular mom with her sweet little ones nearly stopped me in my tracks with the force of the memories she evoked.
Back then, going to the grocery store was a highlight of my day-to-day goings on, and I particularly liked going to the store on Fridays, because that’s when the new issue of People magazine came out. I so looked forward to my trips to the store, where I could buckle the kids into what we called “the truck cart” (a precursor to the current “fire carts,” as my youngest calls the carts with the steering wheels and flames painted on the side) and I would get a cup of coffee from the Keurig in the bakery section (ahh, the pre-COVID times!) and walk slowly through the store sipping coffee and buying delicious food. And Fridays had the extra sparkle of looking forward to reading the new magazine! I’ve actually written several articles about how happy the grocery store trips made me when I was a young mom (and still!), and even one about a Friday when they hadn’t put the new magazines out yet by the time I got there, and it was just one of those days when the promise of the new magazine was helping me get through the day, and I could feel the tentative hold that I had on emotional stability crumbling. Fortunately, a Hannaford employee took pity on me when I asked about the new issue in what I hoped was a super casual, totally chill way but was in reality the clear teetering of a frazzled mom on the edge.
So this mom and her babies had me remembering grocery store trips and magazine Fridays, and then I was remembering Fridays in general and how long it took me to feel like I finally had Fridays back, and *that* is what I decided I wanted to write about today, when I have back-to-school on my mind. (It’ll make sense by the end of the article, I promise!)
I think it’s a generally true thing that people look forward to Fridays, right? My whole life, Fridays were the best. When I was little, it was because school was over until Monday and Dad didn’t have to go to work again until Monday. When I was a teen, even though I usually worked weekends, Fridays still might include pizza and a movie with my family or friends. When I was older still — college and after — Friday nights were definitely friend nights and date nights and staying-up-late nights, even though weekends got more serious and had more responsibilities. Fridays were just the best.
When I started having babies and became a stay-at-home mom, one of the things I found was that Fridays weren’t the same anymore, because all my days were basically the same. I was home with the babies seven days a week, and they were up in the night every night and up early every morning and their daily schedules marched on in the same way no matter what day of the week it was, so for me there was never that real feeling of a week being finished and having a couple of days’ break before having to get back into it again.
We even had regular Friday night visits from friends of ours for years — they were so good to come visit most Friday nights, and their visits were such a bright spot and went far in helping Fridays feel fun — but since Saturday dawned exactly the same as all the other days, our Friday night hangouts could have happened on Wednesdays, for example, and I wouldn’t have noticed any difference.
When my boys started school, though, things changed! School shook up our days and structured our week in such a way that by the time Friday came along, I was thrilled that I didn’t have to think about school clothes or homework or packing lunchboxes for two whole days, and even though I was still tired on Friday nights, I knew the next day would be easier — what a great feeling! Friday nights were a thing again!
As the boys have grown, Fridays have gotten better and better. Some Friday nights are taken up with sports and jobs, and our weekends are busy busy busy — full of sports and jobs and chores and church — but there’s still something about the end of the school week that finds everyone in a good mood. Fridays are just the best.
In summer, weekdays and weekend days look pretty similar for us (lots of working!), so Fridays aren’t as much a thing, but summer is summer — it’s a celebration in and of itself. When I think about school starting up again in just a few short weeks, one of the things I’m looking forward to is the relief I always feel on Fridays — relief that the requirements of school days are suspended for a couple of days, relief that we all can have some time to recharge, and this school year with my oldest living on campus, Fridays will also hold the possibility of occasionally having a visit from our boy. So that’s the back-to-school hope I have for you all this year — that the busy-ness of school is offset by the fun of looking forward to Fridays! I hope the school year starts well for you all!
Kate and her husband have seven sons ages 17, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, and 3. Email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
