Old Fashioned Sundays

Back when I was teaching in DC I started to find myself in a pattern that I grew to quickly dread. I found myself tired and exhausted from the week and then would give myself an "off day" on Saturday but then found that I was running around like a crazy woman after church and between Sunday night community meetings to get everything done that I needed to for the coming week. I often would go to bed on Sunday night worn out and tired, thinking to myself, "I need another day in the weekend." 

As I prayed about it and kept thinking about my weekends I remembered a story that my mom had told me about my grandfather's childhood days. My grandfather shared that his father insisted that Sunday's after church were to be kept simple and for the family and friendships. The whole day was to be centered on community. 

As a girl who loves community and people I was drawn to this idea and theme and kept returning to it as I considered my weekends. So about 7 years ago I started to put into practice the concept that my Sunday's were going to be "old fashioned Sundays" that are simple and centered solely on community. 

As I grew sick and have been fighting for my health some of these ideas have been tweaked a little bit, but the concept of keeping things simple and centered solely on community has only grown more precious. I have shared before about how precious so much of my community and relationships are online (especially being sick) and yet that I really monitor the time that I spend on social media. And Sundays are truly a reflection of that. 

My "old fashioned Sunday" truly consists of connecting with my community in a deeper way. After church, I connect on the phone with dear friends and have long heart-felt conversations as I sip tea, and spend many hours writing old fashioned letters to loved ones and to the soldiers that I have adopted through Adopt-a-Platoon. I look ahead to the week, schedule in time that I want to face-time with precious friendships and make phone calls to friends that are far away. I look ahead at what is coming up in the month ahead, spend time crafting "old fashioned" home made gifts for birthdays and special celebrations and listen to music softly playing in the background. When I was healthier I loved preparing meals for my family (physical and extended friends), gathering around the table, and sharing laughter and our lives.

The time that could have been spent running around trying to finish up those last minute errands is instead translated into time getting to know neighbors, inviting people (physically or emotionally) into my life, and getting to know one another beyond a simple facebook emoji or comment. 

All of these things have brought a richness and depth to my life and I truly look forward to Sundays. I think that for every person and family during different seasons this might look unique, but the concept of having an old fashioned Sunday is something that I hope to treasure forever. Chef John Besh once said, "The tradition of an old fashioned Sunday accomplishes more than just feeding us, it nurtures us." I love this. 

Praying that you were nurtured yesterday friends and that this week is the start of an amazingly beautiful week for you. Happy Monday!