And Your Day?

‘Daddy insisted Sunday was a day of rest whether we went to church or not; no one was expected to work, not even do chores.’ So begins a paragraph in my memoir Black Star Girl.  As a youngster, going to Sunday school and church service was the expected routine.   Mother fixed a special Sunday dinner, and, we ‘rested’.   (I remember reading books and especially reading and rereading the Sunday comics, listening to the radio, and quietly entertaining myself.)  It was a relaxed day.

Raising my own family, though we may not have gone to church every Sunday, I continued to hold Sunday in a different light; a day of family resting and relaxing catching up with each other – not trying to accomplish some task.  I’m sure my motivation evolved from being taught the biblical story of creation; the Lord rested ‘on the seventh day’.  My thinking is it’s a good thing, for what ever reason, that there be a day in our hectic lives, once a week, when we mortals slow down, be rejuvenated personally and with one another.  I think it is a healthy plan.

"You're dreaming," you say.  I know. With more on everyone’s plate today than my parents or I even imagined, adults and children, from a young age, have commitments that leave little time for self, let alone family bonding. For me, I must admit, in recent years, the best quality time I’ve spent with the young people in my family (or their parents) was while filling a role helping rush them to their next activity.

Nevertheless, I'll continue an effort to control the world around me to realize the benefits of a planned day of rest and relaxation.  I’ve done a good job this Sunday.