Sundays

I keep trying to come up with a quirky little title to describe Sundays around here. They used to be my least liked day of the week despite the fact that it is the Lord's day. We have church at 9:30 am. It is still sometimes a bit of a push to get out the door on time, but certainly not like it used to be. A couple years ago, by the time we got to church, I was tired already -- although I usually didn't realize it until the sermon began. We've remedied that problem somewhat by trying to ensure that we go to bed on time on Saturday nights -- even if it means leaving a get-together early.

There was also a time when the children were all so young that at least one of them needed a nap. Techincally, I should have napped too, but I didn't always want to. Regardless, I always found the day rather... dull. I would read, eat, wander the house, eat, tidy something, eat, read some more, eat. I think you get the picture.

Anyhow, now that the kids are older, don't need naps, and are quite independant, I find Sundays a little more enjoyable. I still seem to eat too much, but not as bad as I used to. Now on Sundays, I find joy in watching my kids just be themselves. They play together, or alone. Sometimes, they have a friend over. They read quietly to themselves, or aloud to each other. Since it is summer, they also spend time in the pool or laying on our asphalt laneway soaking up the sun.

They seem to demand very little from me on Sundays and I deeply appreciate the break. Sometimes I read, sometimes I sew or scrapbook. In the summer weather, I will wander the gardens, admire what's in bloom, and pull a weed here or there. The Engineer and I will take our tea out to the west side of the porch so we can watch the children in the pool

Sometimes if we're feeling more ambtious or simply need a change of scenery, we'll go hiking at one of the conservation areas or provincial parks that are nearby. Or we'll spend a lazy afternoon at one of the abundant nearby beaches building sandcastles and dodging waves.

Today we hung around home until after supper. I sewed, the Engineer puttered, the kids built with ELLO (a sort of female version of LEGO, although Bub won't like me saying this), and swam in the pool.

After supper, we went to the beach closest to us, and took Snoopy with us. We were thrilled with how willingly she went in the water. I'm sure her webbed Labrador retriever toes helped out in that respect. It is so funny to watch her swim! She keeps right on paddling even when we hold her in place.

The older girls discovered some beautiful grey clay laying on a drift wood log and spent time moulding and shaping it. The little girl found two sticks and wandered around humming and chattering "in my imagination" as she calls it, while Bub built a sand fortress. Later the kids found more clay below the water and managed to extricate some of it to take home.

All simple things really -- but memory making. I know because I remember going to that very same beach as a child and building sand castles, spending hours moulding and shaping lumps of smooth grey clay, spending time with friends and family, and simply spending time Being.

There's my title for Sundays! I think I will call my Sunday posts, "Simply Sundays" from now on. Around here Sundays really are quite simple and are filled with time for simply -- being. What a wonderful way to spend a day!