(re-post)
Jessie picked up the days of the week and let them sand through her fingers onto the garden.
Wednesday fell first. That was today. You really couldn't do much with the day you were already into. It was like sitting in a basin full of water. Only your getting out of the basin would allow for more water to be put in.
Thursday trickled out of the corner of her palm. Well, she thought. Thursday was always that sort of day. It didn't have the importance of being near the first of the week. It didn't carry the panic aspects of the day just before the weekend. It wasn't even the middle of the week. It must have been an afterthought. On Thursday you could have a sneaky day of rest. A Sunday without any of the trappings of a day set aside for rest. Yes, there was something quite peaceful about Thursday.
Friday squeezed out with a sort of pride. Likely the most welcome day of the week. A mimic, perhaps, of the four workdays that came before it but such a nice feeling on a Friday to see the weekend before you. An anticipatory day. And sometime the waiting was more special than the getting so Friday had it made. Jessie always checked to make sure there wasn't a tooth that needed looking after or an ailment that should be noted before the weekend.
And Saturday – well, Saturday stretched and then slid languidly to the ground. A lazy, bustling, full-of-importance-if-it-could-be-bothered day. There was shopping to do but it could be squeezed into the pocket of another day if something more interesting came up on a Saturday. Jessie loved Saturday lunch the best meal of the week. It was the only time she could be sure that the whole family would be seated together at the table. True, some may be sitting down to breakfast, some to lunch, and Arthur, who worked nights, might be having supper, but they were all there.
A gentle plop and there was Sunday. It was the most stretchable of days. So much could occur – no, thought Jessie, that wasn't it at all. Saturday was the day you could stuff. Sunday seemed to stretch any one activity into an incredible number of hours. An afternoon visit, completed, held the enjoyment of an entire day.
Before Sunday was quite all released and settled, Monday had appeared. Like a child full of plans and fearful of time for their fulfillment Monday jerked and pranced and longed for organization. The wash, of course, pegged out for those who felt they must or who simply enjoyed air-dried clothing, and then ironed if there was time. For everything in a normal day must be fit in as well. Monday had many newborn aspects about it.
Jessie had to shake Tuesday out. If Thursday suffered afterthought pangs Tuesday mirrored them but Tuesday was saved any resentment by coming so close on busy Monday. People welcomed Tuesday. It had to be prompted to any real usefulness but it always complied.
Jessie brushed off her hands and went back into the house.