Early Close Every Wednesday At 2: Fill & Download for Free

For a start, nobody’s ever worked seven days a week unless they wanted to, because of Sunday.Sunday was the Sabbath, on which no work was done, giving people a guaranteed day off after six. Those few that did work on Sundays had a compensatory day.Until quite recently the tradition was that you finished early on Saturday, too, as the eve of the Sabbath, unless you worked in a shop, in which case it was normal to get Wednesday afternoon off to make up for the Saturday morning. Some shops also closed early on Saturdays. Newsagents found it pointless to be open after one o’ clock unless they were in sizeable towns.Even today, nobody works a seven day week all year round. I can do six in my job; in fact last time I did Thursday,Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, had Wednesday off, did Thursday and Friday, and then got Saturday and Sunday off. I’m doing the same again over the next fortnight.It’s only the priviliged few that got regular 9–5 Mon-Fri and it was always an office thing. I’ve known a few works where you do Mon-Fri but you could start at 6, finish at 2, or start at 2 and finish at 10, or start at 10 and finish at 6. You’d roll round over a three-week period. I was lucky for a while to get 8–5 Mon-Fri, and my next one was 9:30 - 6 Mon-Fri but every third Saturday and Thursday off.If you work 9–5 Mon-Fri then you’ve got a cushy job that has nothing to do with socialism but everything to do with a middle-class wanting to protect itself. Lucky you. Because tomorrow I’ve got 8:15 until 4:45 and later a really nasty ten-hour day coming up.I blame the EU.

My mom raised five us - alone for the most part. While we did not get to eat out very often, we were guests at the dinner tables of friends and had dinner every Wednesday at the church supper. Death (or at least the desire for it) was certain if mom had to call us down at the table. We knew the rules early on. No getting up from the table unless the meal is finished and you have been excused - no, don't even try the bathroom trick - you had the opportunity to take care of that before being seated. Napkin in your lap, chew with your mouth closed (how I wish that was taught to children today), say 'please' and 'thank you' as appropriate, and for heaven's sake DO NOT say 'yuck' or 'I don't like that' - ah the good ole days.These days, if mom is dining out and someone's child starts screaming or crying, she says (usually loud enough to get her point across) 'just what I've been looking forward to all day - getting dressed, coming here, and paying to hear someone's screaming kid' - yes, I wish I could climb under the table. But in a way, now that I'm getting older' - I don't blame her. When I get dressed up, look forward to a nice celebratory dinner with friends, the last thing I want is to have someone's child wailing away. Why the heck do parent take their young (2-5 year olds) to expensive restaurants? If you can afford to dine out at those prices - get a baby sitter please. Don't ruin for the rest of us.

When my daughter was pregnant my employer of 9 1/2 years announced that they were closing my department. I had envisioned working there until I retired but 4 months later when it was clear that there were no other positions for me in the company (mine was not the only department closing, every position had a LOT of applicants), I was retrenched. My first grandson was due in two weeks so I planned to take a short break, help my daughter with the baby for a couple of weeks then look for work closer to home.My plans all fell to pieces the day after the night he was born. On my way to the hospital to visit him and his mother, I was concerned about “what if I don’t like him???” I have always thought that newborns are a bit boring, they just lie there and sleep and eat, I much prefer them when they start to interact with people and lose that red and squishy look. Nevertheless, after hugging and kissing the new mother I was given the baby to hold. I looked at him. He looked at me with this expression on his face as if to say “we are going to have SO MUCH FUN!”. I went to my daughter’s place each week for the first few weeks and then she wanted to go back to work part time. I minded him firstly one day a week, then two. Two years later when his brother was born I minded them both two days a week. Their father didn’t work on Wednesday and when my daughter resumed full time work they went to child care two days a week. I resumed work when the second boy started school. From the time the oldest boy started playing junior sport, most of my weekends have been devoted to firstly football and now basketball games. (I prefer basketball, the courts are closer to home and they are far more comfortable than being out in all weathers)I saw my older grandson and his girlfriend last night at basketball. He is 22 and utterly devoted to his mother and to me. I have never tried to be more important than his parents but have always told the boys that if, for any reason, they couldn’t be with their parents through illness or accident or whatever, we were their second home. They have spent many days and nights with us.You can’t expect to establish a relationship with your grandchildren when they are grown up, you have to do it early. Had I still been working full time when the boys were born I would have managed to know them and love them but it would have been more difficult. Being able to spend days with them from infancy and then nearly every Saturday once they were at school and now every Tuesday night since they finished school has been an absolute joy.