Family Days

I was reminded last night by Thomas and Chloe that in our house Sunday was "family day". This was something I had insisted upon - probably a throw back to my own childhood when on Sundays my mom would cook fried chicken and potato salad or a roast with gravy, we would have an early dinner, watch Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and call it a night. She still cooks a roast most Sundays. For me, family day was a day dedicated to our family - no playing with friends, breakfast of waffles or pancakes, a nice sit down dinner and simply a day to catch up from the week's activities and spend quality time by ourselves or with each other. Some days were spent in solitude reading, some watching movies or sports, some cooking (calzones comes to mind) and it really was a day that each of us used to rejuvenate however we needed. Thomas and Chloe also reminded me that it was a day to catch up on household chores not completed during the week. I smiled at that memory as conveniently I had forgotten that part.

I think I can safely say that this tradition has become ingrained in my children and my guess is it will continue when they have their own children. It feels right to spend Sundays with family and as my family expands, grows old, and moves away, I will always be ready for a Sunday supper sitting around the dinner table reminiscing about "family days" new and old.

Drying Dishes

I did something this week that I probably haven't done in 20 years: I washed, dried (by hand) and put away the dinner dishes. It was old school for sure and kind of relaxing in a strange way. It was also very poignant because I realized that all of a sudden the daily chores in my life have changed. When I was in the midst of raising kids my life was all about multi-tasking - my time was not my own and I never really had the chance to give any one thing my undivided attention. Homework, readying for the next day, laundry, projects, household chores and kids consumed my life. In retrospect, I spent most days just keeping up only to do it all over again the next day. Drying the dishes took me back to a time in my life that I had forgotten - I could literally hear my Mom's voice say, "you missed a spot".