There is an intense change in the atmosphere and environment on Fridays. I have a long list of reasons why: Last day before the weekend, personalities are more amicable, the opening of a door, the shutting of a week, closure, fulfillment, leaving behind disappointment, pride, walking away....

People are perhaps more relaxed on Fridays. The tension of a new school days waits for two days while the weekend ensues. Or, perhaps people simply dislike what they do and so Fridays are a reminder that all things do come to an end. A break is on the horizon. Maybe we are lazier on Fridays because our bodies have already started thinking about our outside work environments. Maybe this is lazy. Maybe this is worldliness. 

However, as I finally paid more attention to the environment of Friday, I was struck by this new thought and that is...it appears that teachers and students are simply more engaged with life, with each other, with their work, their feelings, potential problems with curriculum on Fridays. There is conversation. Much more conversation. I find myself slightly more relaxed (though not lazy) on Fridays creating a powerful feeling of whimsy, engagement, passion, dreams, love. Why?

Friday carries with it a whimsy I wish existed every day. For me, the relaxation comes not necessarily from the excitement of the end (because teaching is quite cyclical) but this idea that there is a new beginning gradually approaching within the distance. What is accomplished on Friday dictates the new whimsical on Monday. And maybe that is just it. Maybe from Monday to Thursday we try to recycle that "old" Friday whimsy so many times that it becomes but a shrunken sweatshirt. There is also a sense of fullfillment in thinking back to a week (good or bad) and realizing "we made it," "we are alive," "there were small successes." If we could approach every day of the week like we approach Friday, I think a fresh whimsy could potentially occur every day. And if we broke our life into smaller pieces, we would come to realize that really every day is a Friday. Every day we wake up and begin again.