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Sunday, September 02, 2007

Sunday afternoons


Sunday afternoons were always fun growing up. All the work of the week was completed on Saturday. Sunday morning we would all go to church -- Sunday school included.


My mother, like all good Baptist wives -- would put a roast in the oven before getting herself and her children to church. After Sunday dinner, we would all play or listen to music, while our parents too a "nap." Occasionally, my parents would allow us to go over to a friend's house on Sunday afternoon. Parents would be consulted and the friend, always from our church, would be deemed acceptable. We would be returned to our parents at the six 0'clock service. All good Baptists go to church twice on Sunday.


I loved those Sunday afternoons hanging out with the Sotos or Reynas -- they had cute older brothers so that was always the house of choice.


When my childen were growing up, we followed the same traditions -- "nap" included. Being Methodist though, we rarely attended church more than once on Sunday. We did however, usually have a big roast for Sunday dinner and created our own Sunday tradition of going to a Sunday morning buffet at the club on base.


But my children have lost those traditions. First, much to my disappointment and to my mother's criticism, my children don't go to church regularly. They don't take their children to church. They usually sleep in until noon, and breakfast might consist of frozen waffles or the occasional trip to one of the breakfast places like Dennys or IHOP.


There's no big Sunday dinner. Sunday afternoons are spent catching up on laundry and other chores too numerous to fit into a work week when both parents work.


Of course, things vary. Sometimes they go to the lake or the beach or movies. That's nice when they can take time off to be families.


My husband and I have fallen into a routine lately, I hear you do that when you get older. Saturday mornings we head off to a local place for a cheap breakfast then finish our chores. Sunday afternoons, we spend reading the paper over more coffee than we should drink at Panera, or scouring the bookstores in the area. We still go to church -- not as often as we should. For a while there we were caught up in the laundry and getting ready for the work week thing. Now we're trying to recapture Sunday afternoons. I think I'll have a talk with my children about those Sundays.


Sunday afternoons are important.

5 comments:

Scott said...

For me, it's always been Sunday mornings: waking up earlier than I'd like, getting that first cup of coffee and reading the "paper" online (lately, on my work laptop as I sit in bed and enjoy the sun streaming in my bedroom window). The neighborhood is still and I can let the morning sink in. Soon enough, the errands and the busywork and the running about will begin. But for a little while, at least, the morning is mine.

Carmel said...

I usually like Saturday mornings. Nice quiet time. Everyone else sleeps in.

Sondra said...

Okay Okay! I knew that this sounded all too familiar, we did do that on Sundays growing up. :)

But in my defense, here are some corrections. The first one, have you been to any of the churches here in Columbia??? They are all crazy! I asked around work, but you know I work with crazy people, they all go to the church that end up having people floppin' all over the place, that scares the you know what out of me! So I am still searching for that good church to take Mason to.
Second, the weekends at my house, the boys LOVE breakfast. Those are the two mornings where I actually cook. We either have eggs and bacon or pancakes. If Mason doesn't get one of those, he demands them. :)
And then the rest of my Sunday consists of homework that I put off from earlier in the week. :)

And pretty soon it will be taken over by watching Desperate Housewives, etc.

But to make you happy, I will start the search again, so now you just have the other two children to make feel guilty..haha

Oh, and one more thing to add to do this Sunday (and any other friends reading this)

Mason's fundraiser must be turned in by Monday Sept. 10th. Go to www.cherrydale.com and place your order(s) please! Use the code 147817 so he will get credit. Thanks to everyone who did this last year! (And to everyone that will do this again this year) :)

Have fun in Miami!!!! Love you! -S

Carmel said...

S - No guilt. Just thinking out loud.

Unknown said...

Sunday mornings, we actually are *gasp* in church. :)

Then we come home and make breakfast.

But the afternoons, we try to make those our Lazy Sundays. Usually by collapsing on the couch. We really should get out and hit the bike trails again on our Sundays like we did last year.

We do most of the housework on Friday night and Saturday, just like my mom would do. Saturday afternoons will become baking days again once it cools off and we can bear to use the oven.