Packers and pumpkins

Sunday is the best.  This is the one day of the week wherein my husband and I can actually rest and relax.  As many of you know, hubby dear is involved with a number of entertainment projects.  Said projects involve him meeting with his co-creators and minions several nights a week.  Along with my new job, which requires regular evening hours and attending events, we have a hectic schedule.  Don't get me wrong.  Our life is terrific.  But restful?  Not often!

This is why Sunday is so nice.  We sleep late.  We have a huge, diet-blowing breakfast with bacon, eggs, buttered English muffins, cinnamon rolls, coffee, and the Sunday paper.  (We like to get our saturated fat requirements out of the way for the week.)  And now, it is PACKER SEASON!  A time where we feel we are actually doing our patriotic duty as Wisconsinites by sitting on our tushes and just watching a game.  We can shout and cheer and sip beer and shake our fists.  Today the game was especially ugly. 

At halftime we strolled a half-block to the farm stand to pick up some decorations for our house.  The stand is staffed during the summer, but in the fall the farmer just puts his wares on a big wagon.  A rusted tackle box with a slit cut in the top, bolted to the wagon, serves as cashier.  We pick out our pumpkins, some gourds, and a hay bale and haul them back to the house.

Sunday is also the day where we prepare for the week.  We might take some time to chop vegetables for quick dinners, make lunches, finish up laundry, and make any shopping lists or notes.  It is our time to simply enjoy time together and be in our lives without a lot of activity. We often will even take a nap. 

I know people, friends of mine, who have great difficulty resting.  They feel that they must be constantly working. But if we're working all the time on our own agendas, what might we be missing?  What gifts are being offered that we are blind to?  Like today, when hubby was chuckling at the squirrel who was walking down the middle of the sidewalk like a person, rather than scampering through the yard.  Gift.  Or the way the clear blue sky shone through the golden leaves and black branches of the maple tree as we walked to the grocery store.  Gift. 

Wayne Muller writes in his book (highly recommended) Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal and Delight in Our Busy Lives, "If busyness can become a kind of violence, we do not have to stretch our perception very far to see that Sabbath time – effortless, nourishing rest – can invite a healing of this violence. When we consecrate a time to listen to the still, small voices, we remember the root of inner wisdom that makes work fruitful. We remember from where we are most deeply nourished, and see more clearly the shape and texture of the people and things before us."

Goal for this week: find five or ten minutes of Sabbath time each day.  A moment to breathe, look around, accept the gifts offered, and be grateful!  Life is good.