What Are Sundays For?

Monday through Saturday is filled with more work and chaos than I can bare sometimes. I always look forward to the weekends. But even Saturdays are crazy, as we try to catch up on the chores and errands that fell through the cracks during the week.

And then comes Sunday. The day of rest. The day of family. The day of simplicity. I love relaxed Sundays when the grandparents join us for dinner and game night. We all join in the kitchen to participate in the preparation of the meal while we listen to music and share stories and laughter. We later gather around the table and share a wonderful meal and conversation. Once dinner is finished we clear the dishes and pull out the dominos. Then we sit in friendly competition and play together. The last few weeks, there has also been a communal puzzle sitting on the coffee table. The players in the game change sometimes throughout the evening as the various family members move to other tasks. But the game is not the point - the game is nothing more than a catalyst for being together.

My parents are advancing in years. They may or may not have many years left - but health challenges have been more frequent and more severe recently. Their mortality is becoming more of an issue. I refuse to wake up one day saying "I wish I had spent more time with them. . ." . My parents live relatively close to us. I know that I loved my grandparents when I was young - but it was from a distance. One set lived in another state and the other set was a bit more distant emotionally. I want my children to know and love their grandparents. I want them to learn from their stories. I want them to share their achievements, the challenges, and their joys with them. I want them to know that they can always find unconditional love and support from their grandparents. And the only way to do that is to make sure that they have a chance to spend time with them.

Our Sunday dinners are a time that we all look forward to - in fact, some Sundays, when we are unable to bring the grandparents over for one reason or another, we all feel a bit like something is missing.

All I know, is that at the end of the evening, I go to bed feeling an overwhelming sense of love and peace. And far more prepared to face the week ahead.