What is it about the weekend?

It has inspired many a song (Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday,’ anyone?), it is the first topic to be discussed on a Monday morning and the last topic talked about on a Friday. It even makes an appearance in conversation on a slow Wednesday afternoon.

The hangover that everyone, young and old, is left with has even been given a name – Monday-itis.

Not to mention being the generic conversation starter when you meet someone new.

“So… How has your weekend been?”

And when weekends are lengthened by just one day there is often a mass exodus of family homes and state-wide (sometimes even nationwide) excitement.

Please don’t think I’m complaining about the weekend. Anything but! I’m just thinking – what is it that makes weekends so great?

Now, I could try to list all the things that make up weekends but it’s quite hard when you sit down to think about it.

Sleep ins, nights out, concerts, Sunday papers, Saturday morning sport, brunch….

It’s pretty much all the fun stuff that we don’t get to do during the week. But even with these things, the ‘awesomeness’ of weekends is not justified.

And yes, there are statistics that show we all work better with a break, we’re more motivated during the week, more refreshed afterwards.

But I don’t know whether this explains why we get so excited either.

So what are we left with?

I guess it’s just the combination of everything that weekends represent.

They’re something to look forward to, something that makes the slow drag of the week that little bit more bearable.

Now, to conclude, I feel like I should end with some profound statement telling you all how to spend the perfect weekend.

But in the end, I can only quote Bill Watterson…

“Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.”