Not quite a native Ripley Countian - she attended only her last year of high school in Doniphan though she taught in the R-1 system for 32 years - Teresa (Pearson) Lee delights in surprising readers and herself with anecdotal observations of life in general. Maybe you can blame her St.Louis roots for a quirky humor and some slightly-askewed opinions, but never doubt she writes from the heart.

Flip that Switch!

Posted Wednesday, September 7, 2022, at 7:40 AM

Mondays get a bad rap. Though retired, I still occasionally wallow down a blue Monday path.

One particular Monday - one of those sticky, stifling Ozark mornings - the familiar Carpenters title “Rainy Days and Mondays” popped into my moody brain.

It’s hard to think of a Carpenters melody and not hum the tune or break into song as the words surface. I thought a musical session might erase the brain fog trying to settle in.

I started with “Talkin’ to myself and feelin’ old” and stopped. Those words aren’t exactly mood-altering if one is leaning toward the blues. My birthday last month put me within a year of being around for seven decades. Maybe I don’t feel elderly, but one can’t argue with the numbers.

So I started again from the beginning and added the next two lines “Sometimes I’d like to quit, nothin’ ever seems to fit.” Even though I was singing so well - the feline audience didn’t seem to mind - the words were a downer, so I stopped again. The stoic audience twitched nary an ear, waiting for my next note or not.

From the top again, determined to make it at least to the end of the first verse without more negativity jumping on board the gloomsday train. “Hangin’ around, nothin’ to do but frown, rainy days and Mondays always get me down.”

Whoa there, Nelly! Turn that frown upside down and be wary of the absolute ‘always’ hunkering in the lyrics waiting to pounce on its victim.

The pandemic has taught this usually optimistic gal a thing or two about flipping switches to reign in negativity and battle the blues this tune was serenading. After about 50 days of no rain, I want to celebrate any day showing promise of delivering a few drops. And instead of throwing a pity party for being old, I should plan a personal shindig for each Monday I witness. It’s a blessing.

While searching for tunes with ‘Monday’ in the title. I found a list of 75 that I will listen to on a snowy Saturday this winter. Till then, I will treat my feline audience to this: “Oh, you can kiss me on a Monday, a Monday, a Monday is very, very good…” That’s a Monday to anticipate with smiles.